The Babes of Ino and Shika
by The Reading Maid
Summary: Shika and Ino are married! And wait, Ino's pregnant? Hooray! But wait...do we want a bunch of little Inos running around? Or worse, do we want a bunch of little Shikamarus laying around? But...THEY'RE SO DARN CUTE! ShikaIno.
1. Twins!

I don't own Naruto in this story either…sigh…

The Babes of Shika and Ino

Shikamaru sat down in a chair, exhausted. He couldn't believe it. He was a father. And not only that, but he was the father of _twins_! A boy and a girl. It had been a long, hard eight hours, especially with Ino yelling at him to leave her alone and that she hated him, and at the same time clutching his hand in a grip so hard, he was already bruising. _They should have a rule,_ he thought. _Allowing husbands to _But it was worth it. If someone had told him when he was younger that by the time he was twenty-one, he would be a jonin, married to Ino Yamanaka, and have twin babies, he would have said they were nuts. But, here he was.

"Shikamaru!" Ino yelled from inside the room. "SHIKAMARU! I NEED YOU!"

With a heavy sigh, he got to his feet and walked in. Ino was sitting up in bed, one baby in each arm. Her blond hair was pulled back in a messy and rumpled ponytail, but she was beaming and her blue eyes sparkled. Little Asuma was sleeping soundly, his mouth slightly open. Yuri, on the other hand, was just waking up. As soon as Shikamaru entered the room, she let out a shriek that reminded him so much of her mother, he stopped in his tracks.

"Yes, Ino?" He said, walking over to the bed.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see you." She looked up at him and smiled broadly. "Oh, no, Yuri, Ow!" Yuri had suddenly grabbed a lock of her hair and was now tugging happily on it.

"Um, it may be just me, but aren't three-hour-old babies only supposed to scream, sleep, and nurse? They shouldn't be able to do that yet, right?"

"Shikamaru, you can't classify babies like you can ninjas and stuff. They're each-Oh no! Yuri, you woke up Asuma!"

Asuma was squirming, his face all scrunched up. Shikamaru reached over and picked him up. He was still amazed at how small the little boy was as he cradled him against his chest.

"Women are so troublesome, especially ones like your mother," he said to his son. "And, unfortunately for you, it looks like your sister is going to be just like her."

As Ino heard this, she grinned wickedly. "Well, Yuri, boys are lazy and unfortunately for _you_, your father is the laziest of the bunch. And if your brother is anything like him, we'll have two lazy bums laying around the house."

As she finished, she looked up at Shikamaru and their gazes locked. They stood there, staring into each others eyes, thinking about how wonderful the other person was, how lucky they were to have found each other, and how blessed they were that they were each holding a beautiful child in their arms.

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This was a story I didn't expect to write. Really. I was at my laptop, and it just sorta came out. Anyway, I don't know whether I'm gonna continue this story, but I have a feeling that I will. When I have writers block for my other stories. Anyway, please review, review, review! (even just a one worder is fine. I don't care!)

By the way, Yuri means Lily in Japanese, which is why I picked it for the girl, seeing as Ino's mother had a flower shop. And the little boy's name choice is obvious.

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	2. Mud Puddles and Bathtubs

I don't own Naruto in this story either…sigh…

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"Yuri! NOoOoOoOoOo!" Ino dove to stop the little girl but was too late. Her two-year-old daughter, now able to walk, had wobbled straight into the mud puddle. Yuri had been walking like a pro for a month now, causing constant worry and many last minute saves by Shikamaru and Ino. But today, Ino had been too late. Yuri now sat in the middle of the puddle, splashing happily, her dark eyes happy and her black/brown hair in little pigtails.

"Oh, Yuri. Now I have to give you another bath!" But Ino's anger melted away as she watched her little flower playing in the mud. Oh, how she loved her. Them. Both of them. She looked over at little Asuma, sleeping under a tree. _How different they are, even though they're twins._

"Ino!" A voice called from inside the house.

"Yuri, Suma, Daddy's home!"

Yuri looked up, her eyes wide, listening. Then she struggled to her feet and ran towards the house, her little legs moving as fast as they could. "Dada!"

Ino turned to Suma. "Suma, Daddy's home!" But Suma did nothing but roll over. Ino sighed, saying, "You get more and more like your father everyday. Well, except your looks." For Suma was growing up to look more and more like Ino, while Yuri looked like Shikamaru. Ino picked up Suma and carried him inside, stroking his blond hair.

They walked into their small kitchen to see Shikamaru trying to keep hold of a very wiggly and energetic Yuri.

"I swear. She may look like me, but I never used to be this energetic. Actually, I'm still not this energetic, and I don't think I ever will be."

Ino smiled at Shikamaru. Seeing him made her heart leap just as much as it had when she had first had a crush on him, back when they were teammates. She gave Asuma to Shikamaru, saying, "This one, on the other hand, is turning into another lazy bum."

Asuma shifted so that his head rested on Shikamaru's shoulder and drifted back to sleep.

"That's my boy." Shikamaru took Asuma in his other arm while Yuri scurried down the other side. She made to run off, but Ino scooped her up.

"I don't think so, missy. It's right into the bathtub for you."

"No!" Yuri squiggled free and ran out of the kitchen.

"Oh, boy. Here we go again." Ino looked at Shikamaru. "I think its your turn, Shika dear. I chased after her all day." She reached out and took Asuma from him.

Shikamaru sighed. "I-no. My team was even more troublesome than usual today. All they did was complain about having to learn how to use their chakra on their feet to climb trees. You wouldn't believe-."

Ino looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

He sighed again. "How troublesome." But he walked after Yuri, saying, "You can't hide from me, Yuri." He walked into their small living room. Instantly he saw her hiding place.

"I wonder where Yuri is hiding?" He walked around the room, careful not to trip on Yuri's legs, which were sticking out of the bottom of the couch. "Gosh. She's just too good for me. Ino?" He called. "Can you help me find Yuri? I can't seem to manage it myself."

Ino walked in, still carrying Asuma. "Now, Shika. Don't tell me that a two-year-old can outsmart my super-genius-lazy-bum-jonin-level-ninja husband?" She smiled broadly.

"I know. How could any woman love such a man?" He sat on the couch, right above Yuri's head. She was now giggling nonstop. "Let alone marry him?"

"Only a woman who was just as smart as he, determined, strong minded, and who had enough strength to keep him from doing nothing but cloud watch all day." Ino smiled slyly.

"I don't know if even such a woman exists."

Ino sat next to him. "Oh, I think she does." They bent closer, and just as their lips touched…

"Hey! What about me?!" Yuri wriggled out from her hiding place and stood in front of her parents, hands on hips.

"She learned that from you," Shikamaru muttered to Ino.

She bit her lip to keep from laughing, then turned to her daughter. "Yuri! Were you hiding there the whole time?" Shikamaru leaned forward and picked up his daughter.

"Gotcha!" He lifted her above his head as she shrieked with happiness. "I think someone has a date with a bathtub, Young Lady." And he walked off towards the bathroom, Yuri squealing happily.

Ino got up and followed, thinking Asuma might as well take a bath too. If he ever woke up. She went into the bathroom and found her husband wrestling with her daughter, trying to get her into the bathtub.

"Inooooo, help me!" Ino laughed. She quickly took off Asuma's clothes and put him in the tub.

"What am I going to do with you?" She stepped toward the pair and in one fluid motion took Yuri from her husband, took off her clothes, and put her in the bath, already soaping up her hair. Shikamaru sighed and sat down, letting his head fall back, thinking, _who was it that told me children were easy? Well, whoever it was, I'd like to see them now, dealing with my-. _Splash!

"Good shot, Yuri!" Shikamaru looked up slowly, his face and hair dripping and an eyebrow twitching. Yuri shrieked again and waved her arms up and down, splashing water everywhere.

"Troublesome women," he said with a sigh. But then he sat up, pushing up his sleeves and taking off his chunin vest. "Asuma, watch closely," Shikamaru directed this at his son, who was now rubbing his eye sleepily. Shikamaru then did a quick chop at the water, sending a burst at Yuri, followed by a bigger one at Ino.

Both Ino and Yuri screamed. Shikamaru and Asuma winced. Soon water was flying everywhere, getting Ino and Shikamaru as soaked as the two in the bathtub. When there was hardly any water left in the once filled tub, the twins were wrapped in fuzzy towels, dressed in feety pajamas, and then put down in their appropriate cribs. (Ino would have liked to have them together, but Yuri kicked and tossed while she slept. Shikamaru had taken pity on his son and bought another crib)(goodness knew Shikamaru had experience with someone who kicked and tossed while she slept. coughcoughInocoughcough)

When the twins were asleep, mother and father collapsed on the couch. They sat there, enjoying the peace, the quiet, and each other's presence. Then Ino spoke.

"So, Shika. Did you ever find that woman?"

Shikamaru mumbled something like, "Troublesome women, always looking for a compliment." But soon his lips found hers and they enjoyed a sweet, if brief kiss, for Yuri took that chance to call, "Mama!"

Ino groaned and stood. "Don't go anywhere," she said to Shikamaru, pointing a finger threateningly at him. He put his hands up in surrender. But by the time Ino had returned, only two minutes later, she found her husband right where she had left him, but sound asleep. Ino smiled, thinking, _He really is a super-genius-lazy-bum-jonin-level-ninja husband. But he's my super-genius-lazy-bum-jonin-level-ninja husband. _

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Well, that's chapter two. I hope you all enjoyed it! It turns out I like writing this story a lot, so it's not just gonna be a filler-in story. But when I start my next big story, I'm probably gonna be slower at updating. Also, my spring break is over, and now it's pretty much a straight run from now till the end of school. Sigh. Anyway, please keep reviewing! They are very much appreciated! And thank you to all of you who reviewed aready! You guys are my other heroes.


	3. A lazy brother and a wish come true

I do not own Naruto

Chapter Three

Five-year-old Yuri Nara stood impatiently by the entrance of the park. She quickly scanned the area, looking for her twin, her impatience growing. She saw most of her friends, but no sign of her twin.

Sari, Sasuke and Sakura's daughter pink haired daughter, was helping her little brother Sammy on the swing, while Sakura herself was sitting in the grass, holding the newest addition to their family, two-month-old Shuri. (I guess they had a thing with names starting with 's') Watching them, her best friend, her best friend's two-year-old brother, and her baby sister made Yuri a little jealous. _Why don't I have more siblings? All I have is a lazy twin brother who doesn't do anything!_

Yuri pulled her eyes away from the pink and blue haired siblings and looked on the other side of the playground. There she saw Tenten and a pregnant Hinata, her mother's other best friends, sitting on a blanket, watching their children. Hinata's blond little four-year-old boy Tam was trying to get Blaire, Tenten's five year old daughter and Yuri's other best friend, to play with him, but Blaire was concentrating fully on her one-year-old brother Hizashi, ignoring the hyperactive kid behind her. All three of the children had the white eyes of the Hyuga clan.

Yuri looked away from the happy scene. She scanned the park one more time, then stopped, her eyes on the base of a tree. _Of course._ She marched over to it, dark eyes blazing and long, dark hair flying. As she got closer, a very familiar blond head became visible behind one of the roots.

"There you are, you lazy bum!" Yuri stood above her twin and pointed an accusing finger at him. "I've been looking all over for you. Do you even know what time it is!?"

Asuma slowly opened one blue eye. "Yes. I know what time it is." The eye closed.

"Grrrr! Mom told us to be home TEN MINUTES ago!" This didn't seem to faze Asuma at all. "Can you imagine what she's gonna do to you if I tell her that we're late because of YOU!?"

This got Asuma's attention. Their mother, when she was angry, was a terrifying sight. And recently, she had been very mood swing-ish. Asuma leapt to his feet with a speed that surprised his sister.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" He grabbed her wrist and pulled her along as he ran towards their house. Yuri waved goodbye to her friends as they left, but none of them saw her. _They're all concentrating on their siblings. Hmph._

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Shikamaru had just gotten in the door after a week long mission, kissed his wife, and had had time to take off his shoes and put down his bag, when she put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh!" She ran to the bathroom and knelt down by the toilet.

_Bu- Oh boy,_ Shikamaru thought, as he quickly followed her in and held back her hair, stroking her forehead. When she was done, he went into the kitchen and got her a glass of ginger ale. She took it gratefully as she collapsed on the couch.

"It's nice to have you back, Shika." She smiled at him. "I have something to tell you, but I bet you've already guessed." Her smile widened.

Shikamaru looked at her, then grinned as well. "What did you expect? I wouldn't notice my wife throwing up, and her mood swings?" He took her hand. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Sakura told me so." Ino screamed and threw her arms around her husband. "We're gonna have another baby!"

Shikamaru hugged her tightly. "Have you told the kids yet?"

"No. I wanted to wait until we could tell them together. Actually," she let go of Shikamaru and looked at the clock. "They were supposed to be home fifteen minutes ago!" She stood up, hands on hips. "Well. If they think-."

The door burst open and the twins came rushing in. Shikamaru was surprised to see Asuma pulling Yuri. Usually it was the other way around.

"Daddy!" They dove onto him, hugging him fiercely.

"Hi, kids." Shikamaru hugged them back, happy to be home.

"Eh-hem." Yuri and Asuma froze. "Do you two have anything you'd like to say to your mother?" They turned around slowly until they were facing their mother.

"Um, yes, mother, I do." Yuri straightened and mimicked her mother's pose. "Please, sit down." Ino looked surprised, then smiled and sat down next to Shikamaru. "Now. I have something I want to say." She took a deep breath, then looked both of her parents in the eye. "I want a little brother. Or sister. Actually, a sister would be better."

Ino smiled at Shikamaru, then looked at Yuri. "Well, sweetie, I think we can help you out. You see," her smile broadened. "Mommy's going to have a baby."

Yuri and Asuma stared at her for a second. "Really?" Yuri whispered, hardly believing that this was real.

"Yes, really."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Yuri jumped on her mother, hugging her fiercely. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" She jumped off Ino and onto Shikamaru. "AHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Then she grabbed Asuma's wrists and began to dance around with him.

"I have to go tell Sari, and Blaire, and Tam, and everyone! Can I please, mother? Please?" Yuri looked at her with eyes that were shining with excitement.

"Yes," Ino laughed. "But take Suma with you. And be back by-."

"HOORAY! Le's go, you lazy bum!" She grabbed her twin and they ran back out the door.

"Wait, Yuri I don't want to go! Dad, help me!" But Asuma was no match for an excited Yuri.

Shikamaru laughed and Ino leaned back against him. "I wonder what this one will be like." He said.

"I don't know. But I don't think Yuri will be able to handle two siblings like you. Goodness knows she has her hands full with Asuma."

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That was chapter three! I absolutely LOVED writing about the other children. They will be included later on, never fear. Thank you to all who reviewed, and if you have any suggestions, just put them in your reviews. Oh, did I miss any couples? If you didn't already guess, Tenten married Neji and Hinata married Naruto. Thanks!


	4. Hide and Seek and a Storm of Roses

I don't own Naruto in this story either…sigh…

Chapter Four

It was nearing the end of August, and the Nara household was preparing to have their fifth annual End of Summer bash. Shikamaru was out in the yard, putting up strings of colorful lanterns. Asuma was supposed to be helping him, but was instead lying at the bottom of a tree, staring up at the mid afternoon sky. Inside, Ino was doing Yuri's hair.

"Ow! Mama, that _hurts_!" Yuri tried to pull away, but that just hurt even more.

"Well, if you weren't squirming so much then maybe it wouldn't!" Ino snapped the clip in place. "There, you're done."

Yuri hurried over to the mirror and looked at herself critically. "Why can't I just wear it in a braid?"

Ino sighed. "Because you always wear it in a braid. And today's special!" She put her hands on her back, groaning. Planning a big party while being almost nine months pregnant was not easy

"But do I have to wear the dress too?" Yuri spun around, making her long black/brown hair swing, looking at her pretty green summer dress.

"It's not a fancy dress, Yuri. It's casual. And besides, I bet Blaire and Sari will be wearing dresses too." She walked out of Yuri's room, saying, "I'm gonna go check on the boys. People will start getting here soon!"

Yuri looked at herself for another second, then ran over to her window. Looking down, she saw her street, but no one they had invited. Yuri let out a sigh, then quickly turned and ran into the hallway. Looking over the banister, she saw her mother's back in the kitchen. Grinning, she pulled herself onto the banister, then slid all the way down, landing at the bottom with a thud.

"I saw that, young lady."

Yuri winced. _Uh! How did she see that?_ She called,"Sorry, mama!" as she ran out the back door and into the yard.

Shikamaru had strung the last string. He looked over his work and then gave an exhausted sigh, as though he had just put out a great amount of effort. Yuri ran up quickly and leapt on his back. "Gotcha!"

She laughed triumphantly, but then her dad disappeared with a puff.

"Ah!" _A shadow clone!_ She landed easily, but then was picked up from behind.

"Gotcha," Shikamaru smirked.

"You cheated! You used a jutsu!" Yuri struggled, but then Shikamaru tickled her and she subsided into fits of laughter.

"People are here!" Ino yelled from inside. Shikamaru put Yuri down as Asuma rose to his feet. As Shikamaru walked inside, a pink-haired little girl ran out.

"Yuri!"

"Sari!" The girls ran and hugged each other. Sammy, now three, followed Sari, his thumb stuck firmly in his mouth. Asuma walked over to them as Sakura and Ino came into the yard.

As she grew up, Sakura had let her hair grow out again, but now wore it up in a pretty bun. In her arms she carried Shuri. The two women walked over to a group of lawn chairs and sat down, both sighing contentedly.

"Sakura, where's Sasuke? Ino asked.

"He, Naruto, and Neji are on another mission. They'll be back tomorrow, though." She frowned slightly. "I wish Tsunade would stop sending them on these long missions. Sasuke's been gone for a whole week!"

Ino patted her friend's arm consolingly, thinking, _I'm glad Shikamaru chose to be a genin squad leader. I don't know what I'd do if he was always away. _She looked over at her husband, now entering the yard with Tenten, Blaire, and little Hizashi, and just seeing him made her smile.

Tenten walked over to the mothers, carrying Hizashi on her hip. "Hello, fellow mother-kunoichis!" Tenten smiled brightly. She still wore her hair in buns, despite being twenty-seven years old. But, they worked on her. She managed to look young, motherly, and sophisticated at the same time. Ino and Sakura would never understand how she did it.

"So, how is our Expecting One?" Tenten sat down next to Ino and plopped Hizashi down at her feet.

"Uh! I wish the baby would just hurry up and get here! This one' easier then the twins, but still, me, my back, and my husband can't take much more of this." She yelled over to Shikamaru, who was walking inside. "SHIKAMARU, CAN YOU GET ME ANOTHER PILLOW?!"

He waved a hand in answer as he disappeared inside.

She smiled at Sakura and Tenten. Tenten smiled back, but Sakura was staring open-mouthed at Ino. "Y-you mean that he answers to that? That he actually _does_ what you ask him?"

"Yeah," said Ino. Tenten nodded.

"Neji did that too?" Sakura found it hard to believe that the cold Hyuga prodigy, now one of the top jonin in the village, would dote on his wife like that.

"Yeah, believe it or not." Tenten smiled warmly. "You'd be amazed at what he's like, especially when I'm pregnant. He gets me anything I ask for, always asking how I'm feeling, doing extra things around the house." Her eyes took on a distant look as Tenten's thoughts turned to her amazingly gorgeous, talented, and devoted husband. .

Sakura, still in shock, was pulled back to earth as Shuri gave a cry. Shuri was now eight months old and already had quite a head of blue hair. Sakura have her a pacifier from her diaper bag and Shuri squealed in happiness. Sakura's face softened as she watched her baby, taking on a peaceful and content look.

Ino saw this and put a hand to her belly. It had been almost six years since Yuri and Asuma were born. She was definitely ready for another baby. No, _they_ were ready for another baby. Shikamaru entered the yard, pillow under one arm, carrying Hinata and Naruto's baby Anni as Hinata herself came in behind him.

Motherhood suited Hinata. She had lost some of her shyness, emboldened by both her husband and her son, Tam, who was so much like her husband it was a little frightening. Hinata had let her hair grow a little longer, but kept it the same style. Now, she walked over to the three other mothers and took an unoccupied seat.

"Hello." She smiled at Hizashi and Shuri, then looked at her own baby, whom Shikamaru was now bouncing up and down, thinking no one was watching.

"Hey, Hinata. Wow, it looks like Anni got bigger!"

"I know," Hinata said, in her quiet voice. "But she was so little when she was born, now she's kind of normal size." All three could see the love in Hinata's face as she watched her baby.

"Hey, Hinata, where's Ta-."

"MOM! I CAN'T BUTTON MY PANTS!" Tam's voice was as unmistakable as Naruto's. He ran out of the house, looking around for Hinata, holding his shorts up with his hands.

Hinata blushed and smiled. "Come here, Tam." He ran over. He looked almost exactly like Naruto, except for his white Hyuga eyes.

"I can't get them done! I've tried and tried and tried-."

"It's okay, Tam. There you go," she said as she fastened his shorts.

"Thanks, mom!" He ran to join the other kids, who were now organizing a game of hide and seek. "HEY! I WANT TO PLAY!"

"He had to go to the bathroom," Hinata said, sighing, but looking after him with love.

Shikamaru walked over to them, giving Anni to Hinata and giving Ino the pillow.

"Thanks, Shika." Ino smiled brightly at him. He rolled his eyes, but he smiled.

"Troublesome women."

"Hey, Naras!" They turned and saw Choji and his wife and kids enter the yard.

Choji was a happy guy. He hadn't married a ninja, instead finding a wonderful girl their age named Emi. She was tiny compared to Choji, and she loved him more than anything. Together, they had a little boy Asuma and Yuri's age named Nemar, a little girl named Chiara who was Tam's age, and another little boy, Kenta, who was the same age as Sammy.

The three kids went and joined the others, while Choji and Emi walked towards the adults.

"Hey, Cho!" Shikamaru grinned. Between having kids, Shikamaru teaching his genin squad, Choji going on missions, and, recently, Shikamaru taking care of Ino, the two best friends had not had much time to do guy things. Choji waved to the women before he and Shikamaru went to another group of chairs and started to catch up.

Emi joined the other mothers, who had accepted her right away. She was tiny, with a short, red bob and a wide, smiling mouth. The kunoichi all liked Choji, and were very happy that he had been able to find a partner, just as they had. Choji and Emi were a perfect match.

As the adults talked and talked, the children were trying to organize. They had divided into two hide and seek teams, but more and more people kept coming, and it just wasn't working. Yuri now took total command.

"Alright! Are we all here? Is anyone else coming?"

"No," Asuma said. "This is everyone. All the kids, anyway." He and Nemar, Asuma's best friend, were standing to the side, letting Yuri and her friends do all the work.

"Good. Now, I'll be one captain, and Asuma can be the other." Yuri took on the bossy tone her mother had mastered and had then passed on to her daughter.

"No! Let's do boys against girls!" Tam was jumping up and down. "Come on!!"

"Okay, fine then. Girls over here, boys over there." They split up, then stood facing each other. The girls' side was comprised of Yuri the bossy, Sari the chatterbox, Blaire the peacemaker, and Chiara the adorable little redhead. The boys' team was Asuma the lazy, Nemar the hungry, Tam the hyperactive, Kenta the other redhead, and Sammy the quiet one. (Wow, they're a lot like their parents).

"We call boys count first!" Yuri cried. She high-five Blaire, Sari, and Chiara, then they ran away.

"Fine." Asuma sighed. He walked over to the nearest tree, lay down, and closed his eyes. "Tam, you can count."

"ALRIGHT!" Tam put his hands over his eyes and began counting. "One! Two! Three! Five! Eight! Thirteen! Eleven! Four!"

Asuma's eyebrow started twitching.

"TEN! FOURTEEN! SEVEN! NINE!"

An anger mark appeared on Asuma's forehead.

'TWENTY-FOUR! NINETEEN! SEVENTY-SEVEN!"

Asuma started taking deep breaths, his face getting a little red.

"EIGHTY-FOUR! SIX!"

Nemar, watching his friend, knew an explosion was coming soon, and moved himself, Kenta, and Sammy out of harm's way.

"TWENTY-THREE! FORTY-FIVE! **ONE HUNDRED**! ALRIGHT, LET'S GO!!!!!"

"You idiot! That is not how you count to one hundred!" Asuma was standing up. Deep in the recesses of the gene pool, one of Ino's temper genes had made its way into Asuma. It only showed itself rarely, and only when around stupidity that was beyond acceptable. At least, in Asuma's terms.

"WHO CARES!!!!!! LET'S JUST GO! GO! GO!!!!!!" And with that, he ran off, leaving a trail of dust behind him.

Asuma took a second to calm himself. When he seemed okay, Nemar said. "Well, let's go."

As they walked, Asuma muttered, "He probably already got lost, or stuck somewhere…"

The four remaining boys searched at a more sensible pace, and, sure enough, seconds later found Tam stuck head first in a bush.

The girls' team, meanwhile, was doing pretty well. They had all run in a big circle, then, after the boys had gone out looking, had climbed into the tree under which the boys had been counting. It was genius. Yuri patted herself on the back for thinking of it.

"This was a good idea, wasn't it?" she said.

Chiara smiled and said, "Yeah! You're amazing, Yuri."

"Shhh! They're gonna hear us!" Blaire put a finger to her lips, her Hyuga eyes intense. They sat there in silence. After a minute, Sari began to get bored. Her eyes started roaming, then they froze.

"Y-yuri!" She whispered frantically.

"Shhh! Do you _want_ them to find us?" Yuri was caught up in the intensity of the game and she did **not** want to lose.

"There's a-a-a SPIDER!!!! AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Sari threw herself away from the arachnid that was crawling several inches from her ankle. Her scream scared Chiara, who jumped a foot in the air.

Yuri yelled, "SARI! YOU'RE GONNA MAKE US LOSE!" But then she registered what exactly Sari had yelled. "What? There's a spider? WHERE?!" She sprang to her feet, looking around wildly.

"Ow! Yuri, you're stepping on me!" Blaire yelped. "Stop jumping around, we are in a _tree, _REMEMBER!"

Chiara screeched, "A _SPIDER!_ AHHH!" She too leapt to her feet.

The boys, only a few yards away, heard the screams and came over to see what the problem was. The parents, too, were looking at the tree, confused and a little worried.

The tree was in chaos. They were all, except for Blaire, scurrying around, trying to avoid the dime-sized monster.

Down below, Tam yelled, "HEY! WHAT THE HECK'S GOIN' ON UP THERE?!"

Blaire gave up trying to calm down the other girls. She moved over to try and get down, but then a blond head popped up from nowhere.

"HEEEEEY!"

"AHHHH!" Blaire nearly fell out of the tree, but instead fell into Chiara, who fell onto Yuri, onto whom Sari was clinging for dear life. All four toppled from the tree, bringing Tam down with them.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" _THUD_. They landed in a heap on the ground. Right in front of Asuma, Nemar, Sammy, and Kenta. No one moved for a second. Then, Sammy stepped forward and poked each girl on the forehead.

He popped his thumb out of his mouth. "Tag."

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After everyone recovered from the spider incident, the evening relaxed. As the sun began to set, they all sat around, talking and playing. The children had given up on hide and seek, and were now separate. The boys were off doing their own thing, Tam trying to get Asuma to spar with him, but Asuma was under the tree again, ignoring him. Shikamaru and Choji were together, now sitting in companionable silence, staring at the sky. Tenten was walking around the yard, Hizashi on her hip, rocking him to sleep. Shuri lay in a little nest at Sakura's feet, sleeping soundly, while Hinata held her sleeping Anni. The other little girls were all sitting around their mothers, talking.

Ino sat back in her chair, looking at all of the people in her yard. All of her friends and family. She loved them all, so much. And to have them all, gathered here, on this perfect night, was-.

_Uh-oh._ She felt something. _Oh my gosh. Holy cow. HOLY SHIT!_

"Shika?" she called. He didn't hear her. "Shika! SHIKAMARU, MY WATER JUST BROKE!"

The yard went silent; even the crickets stopped chirping. Then, chaos.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" The little girls all screamed. This woke up the sleeping babies, who, in turn, all started screaming. Tam hadn't heard what Ino said, and kept asking,

"What? What's happening? Why is everyone screaming?!"

Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata all gathered around Ino and Shikamaru was at her side in a second. "Really? Are you sure?"

"WHY WOULD I BE JOKING ABOUT THIS!?" She roared.

He winced. "Right. Okay, uh, Choji! Come here!" Choji ran over. "You and I are gonna carry Ino to the hospital." He reached down and picked up Ino from one side as Choji got the other. Ino's contractions started.

"Ahhhhhh! Shikamaru! Hurry up!" They ran from the yard, Sakura and Emi followed, Sakura carrying Shuri.

Tenten turned to all the kids, who were all running around and screaming. "Hey, kids, listen up!" No one heard. "Hey! HEY!!!!" They all froze, staring at Tenten with wide eyes. "No more screaming. Now, we're all gonna go to the hospital, and we're gonna go in order. Asuam and Yuri, you're each in charge of your gender group. Keep them under control, and who ever doesn't cooperate," she pointed to herself with her thumb, "Will answer to me. Got it?" Two blond, one black, two red, one pink, one blue, and two brunette heads nodded. "Alright, let's go!"

Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino were already out the door and halfway down the street, with Sakura, Shuri, and Emi close behind, followed then by Tenten and Hizashi, the nine children, and Hinata and Anni pulling up the rear. They walked quickly through Konoha, down the five blocks from the Nara house to the hospital.

Ino's contractions were coming faster. She grabbed Shikamaru's shoulder in a vice-like grip. When she yelled, he yelled with her. "Hu-rry up!" she hissed.

"We're going as fast as we can!" He told her, but he and Choji both quickened their already very fast pace. Finally, they made it. The three burst through the emergency room door, just as Ino let out another yell, grabbing Shikamaru's ponytail.

"She's having a baby! NOW!" he told the receptionist through gritted teeth.

"WHY ARE WE AT THE DESK?! GET ME TO A ROOM **NOW**!!!"

The nurse jumped to her feet and grabbed a wheelchair. Shikamaru and Choji gratefully put Ino in the chair. Choji wiped his forehead, glad that his part in this was done. But Shikamaru's job was just beginning. Ino had a grip on his arm and would not let go, pulling him along as she was wheeled away.

"Good luck, Ino!" Sakura called down the hall. She thought a second, then, "You too, Shikamaru!!" They disappeared behind the big, birthing-wing doors.

Yuri looked at the clock for about the hundredth time. It said two a.m. Had they really been there that long? _We've been here for six hours! My god, how long can having a baby take?_

She was sitting in one of the hospital waiting room's armchairs, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. On her left and right were Blaire and Sari, both sleeping soundly, Sari's head on Yuri's armrest. Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten had all decided to stay until Ino had the baby, meaning all the kids had to stay as well. When the nurse realized this, she had brought them a pile of blankets, which had all been distributed.

Sakura and Tenten shared one couch, Shuri and Hizashi sleeping between them. Both were awake, but just barely. Hinata sat at another couch with Tam, who was sleeping with his head in her lap, and Anni, who was asleep against her chest. Hinata herself was also asleep. Emi and Choji sat at another couch, sleeping against each other. Sammy, Kenta, and Chiara were all spread out on one couch, all asleep. Asuma and Nemar were sitting next to each, Nemar asleep, but, for once, Asuma was not. He, like his twin, was sitting up, staring at the clock. Waiting.

Suddenly, the door to the hospital burst open and three ninja came in. Neji Hyuga, Naruto Uzamaki, and Sasuke Uchiha stood on the threshold, all three looking a little nervous. But, when they saw their wives and children, they relaxed and walked over.

"HEY! WH-." Sasuke slapped his hand over Naruto's mouth, rolling his eyes.

"Tenten, why are you all here? Is-," Neji started softly.

"Ino's having her baby!" She whispered excitedly. "We were at her party, and then her water broke, so we all came with her, and we wanted to stay." She reached out for Neji's hand. "I'm sorry if we worried you. How did you know we were here?"

Neji gestured to Naruto. "He followed Hinata's scent here. He caught yours and Sakura's scents as well and told us." He sat down in the chair next to Tenten's couch and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

"How was your mission?" Tenten asked, her face concerned.

"It was fine. It would have helped to have Shikamaru, though, because-." He stopped as the birthing-wing door opened.

Said strategic genius walked through it, looking exhausted. As soon as they saw him, Yuri and Asuma jumped up and ran to him. The adults all turned to him. He saw his old classmates, their offspring, his offspring, and he smiled.

"A girl." He said hoarsely. Sakura screamed, but then clapped a hand over her mouth. Tenten beamed at him, Neji smiled, Hinata clapped her hands, Sasuke smirked and nodded, and Naruto jumped in the air.

"ALRIGHT!!!" Sasuke clobbered him over the head.

"Shut up, you idiot!"

Yuri jumped up and down and ran around, keeping her hands over her mouth, but positively bursting with excitement. Asuma beamed at his dad. "Can we see her?"

Shikamaru lead Asuma and the still jumping Yuri back through the doors and down the hall. They turned into a room. Yuri gasped. Ino was sitting up in bed, looking even more exhausted then Shikamaru, but beaming brightly. In her arms was a little bundle. Yuri jumped onto the bed and looked at her new baby sister.

"She's so little," she breathed, wide eyed. Ino wrapped one arm around Yuri and kissed her on the forehead. "What's her name?"

Asuma came over and Shikamaru picked him up so that he too could see. Ino smiled at Shikamaru, then said, "Rose."

Yuri's smile grew , if possible, even bigger. "You're a flower, just like me!" She reached out a finger and touched Rose on the nose. Her sister scrunched her face, but continued sleeping. Yuri looked down on her and said, "I hope you turn out just like me!"

Shikamaru groaned. "That's the last thing we need in this family," he started.

"Another troublesome woman," Asuma finished, nodding his head firmly. Rose let out a little sigh.

…………………………………………………………………

There's chapter four. Wow, I got three pages into this chapter, but then I decided I didn't like it, so I had to rewrite it. Sigh. How troublesome… Anyway. Thank you to all those who reviewed! I've been getting a lot of reviews that say this story is cute, so I hope this is cute enough! I managed to get all the children and parents in here, except for one family. Can anyone guess who? I think I had the most fun writing about Tam, because he's so much like Naruto! I decided to add Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto in at the end, because I wanted them to make an appearance. They last family will hopefully make their debut in the next chapter and I can't wait! I'll try and update soon, so keep reviewing! They give me extra motivation!


	5. A Family Picture? What?

I DON'T OWN NARUTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 5

"Um, ma'am, can you _do_ something with your son? Please?" The photographer was wringing his hands and sweating. Apparently, he was not used to his subjects falling asleep while he was taking their picture, and seven-year-old Asuma was now leaning on Yuri, eyes shut and mouth slightly open, clearly asleep.

Ino said, "Asuma, honey, please try not to fall asleep! I would like you to be _awake_ in the picture, if you don't mind."

The five members of the Nara family were in the photographer's shop in Konoha, Ino having convinced Shikamaru that a family picture would be a great idea! Shikamaru had grumbled, but Ino had given him the puppy dog eyes, and he had agreed. But, he himself had flatly refused to put on the matching outfit the photographer had picked out, which meant that, obviously, he could not be in the picture. Ino had decided it would look foolish with only one parent, so now it was only the three children.

Ino and the photographer had talked for over an hour about what outfits the children should wear, while her husband and offspring had sat in the waiting room. That was not an easy thing to do, having a very fidgety one-year-old and two seven-year-olds, all three of which were NOT happy about the whole 'family picture' idea. (Actually, Rose didn't really have an opinion because she was too young. Duh)

When her son did not wake, Ino said louder, "Asuma, wake up!" Nothing.

Yuri had not noticed her brother, having been playing with Rose. But her mother's voice had brought her back to the conversation. When she saw Asuma sleeping on her, she frowned and her face turned red.

"Get off me, you lazy doof!" She pushed him off and he woke with a start. Yuri looked satisfied and returned her attention to her sister. Rose was turning out to look nothing like Yuri, having sprouted a full head of blond hair and, for some reason, she had bright green eyes. When Shikamaru and Ino saw this, they were dumb founded. Then Shikamaru vaguely remembered his grandmother having greenish eyes, so…

Rose smiled, showing her first tooth, and clapped her hands. Yuri, Ino, and the photographer all smiled and swooned over her. She was a truly mesmerizing and beautiful baby. Asuma just rolled his eyes and sat back, staring at the ceiling.

He didn't understand why his mom got mad at _him_ for sleeping, when his father was sound asleep in one of the waiting room chairs. He closed his eyes, thinking he's just take a quick nap, but just as he did, Ino's voice boomed in his ear.

"ASUMA, WILL YOU AT LEAST TRY TO STAY AWAKE!?"

Once the photographer, whose name was George, Ino, and Yuri had stopped goggling over the baby, it was back to business.

"Now, how about we have the big girl and boy sitting with the baby in their laps?" George put his fingers like a camera lens and imagined how it would look. "Ah! Amazing!"

"Yes, that would be wonderful! Don't you think so, _dear_?" After Asuma pointed out his father, Ino had dragged him over to the group.

"Yeah, sure." Shikamaru rubbed his eyes, still half asleep. Ino glared at him. George, meanwhile, was bustling over to the children and arranging them just so. When he was done, he stepped back and admired his work. Ino clapped her hands and Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Yes, George , yes, this is perfect!" Ino looked at her children and her heart swelled with pride. They were all so beautiful, so unique, so wonderful. She linked her arm in Shikamaru's and leaned against his shoulder. "They're so beautiful."

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah, I guess," he drawled, but a smile played on his lips and he too was filled with love for his children.

"Okay, here goes nothing!" George stepped behind the camera and held up his fingers. "Three, two, one!"

The camera clicked once, and then it blew up in a puff of smoke. Ino gasped. The photographer jumped back and watched as his camera disintegrated and fell to the floor, a pile of ash. He stared at it, then looked up at the children. The three, who had been looking at the pile of ash in stunned silence, took one look at him and burst out laughing.

He turned to Ino and Shikamaru and they saw that his face was smoke blackened, his hair sticking straight up, and his eyebrows gone. It was actually a hilarious sight. Ino burst out laughing and Shikamaru grinned. Then he looked at his kids.

"Hey, do you have another camera?" George nodded. "Then get it and start doing your job." George looked confused. Shikamaru turned him around. He took one look at the children, then his face split into a smile and he dove into a cabinet. He pulled out a camera and was soon snapping away.

……………………………………………………………………..

Two weeks later, the photos came in the mail. All five of them opened it up and looked. (Again, Rose didn't really look, seeing as she's only one)

The first picture was the three kids looking peaceful and happy, smiling small-ly at the camera.

"Wow, the outfits look so nice!" Ino exclaimed, giving herself an imaginary pat on the back. Asuma was wearing khaki cargo pants, a white T-shirt, and a jean jacket. Yuri was wearing a tan and brown plaid skirt with white tights, white T-shirt, jean jacket, and a white ribbon tied in her loose hair. Rose was wearing a denim jumper and a white turtleneck. Her blond hair had two little white clips.

Ino, who was holding them, smiled and flipped to the next one. This one was of the three shocked faces, all looking straight at the camera (which managed to get the picture before it blew up, and the film miraculously survived the explosion). Yuri laughed at this one.

Ino flipped again to reveal the first of the golden pictures. All three children had looks of pure happiness and joy on their faces. Yuri was laughing; her face slightly flushed, her mouth open with a big smile, arms holding her sides. Asuma, too, was laughing, leaning against Yuri, eyes shut, showing the brilliant smile that revealed itself so seldomly. Rose was just excited about Yuri and Asuma being so excited and was giving her baby smile, her one tooth prominent, clapping her hands. There had to be at least twenty pictures of the three of them laughing. It was like one of those flipbooks, with each of their positions changing slightly from picture to picture. But the one constant thing was their laughter, and their happy expressions.

After the last laughing picture came the picture that made Shikamaru burst out laughing, something that happened so rarely that it made the other three (and Rose, even though she still didn't really understand what was going on) laugh too.

At the photography studio, Rose had thrown up her hands in excitement, poking Yuri in the eye. Yuri, thinking it had been Asuma, had started yelling at him. But then Shikamaru had said some snide comment, which had made Yuri turn to him and start yelling at him. The photographer had caught the moment where Yuri was flushed with anger and turned to the side of the frame, her mouth open and her finger waggling imperiously off screen. Asuma was rolling his eyes, arms folded. Rose was still clapping her hands, her mouth open in an ear-piercing scream. But, Asuma and Yuri also had hints of smiles on their faces.

This picture, which portrayed the three children so well, was made into the Nara's Christmas card picture. Ino had it blown up and it is now hanging over their fireplace, flanked by the simple one and the laughing one. Shikamaru still grins every time he sees it.

……………………………………….

Well, that was a short chapter. I needed to update, so I just knocked this one off. But just because this was a knock-off chapter doesn't mean that you shouldn't review!

I think that I made up a few new words by adding –ly to the end of old words, but oh well. It's my story.

Thanks again for all your reviews, they make me very happy.

Okay. I'm coming down to the last month of school, so I am gonna be REALLY busy. But then again, most people probably are gonna be too. So I'm just warning you now, I may be a bit slower in updating. I won't stop updating, but I will have to slow down.

Oh, yeah. I mentioned at the end of last chapter that I was gonna include the last family in this chapter, but I didn't actually manage that (obviously). But I'll try to next time. A hint at who it is. Let's just say that there are three more people wearing green spandex in _this_ leaf village.

Another thing. I made a list/chart of all the families so far and I put it on my profile. (which I just redid) You can go there and check it out!

Anyway, thanks again to everyone for reading! Ciao!


	6. Cha! Jutsu Time!

I don't own Naruto

Chapter 6

"Alright, Yuri, Asuma, watch closely." The five Naras were standing in Team 10's old practice ground. Actually Rose wasn't standing. The baby was napping on a blanket under a tree, her thumb in her mouth. Shikamaru, Ino, and the twins (who were almost eight) were standing together. Shikamaru and Ino had decided that it was time the twins learned some jutsu. Yuri was trying to learn the Shadow Possession and Asuma the Mind Transfer.

Now, the twins were standing together, watching their parents. Ino was standing twenty feet from Shikamaru, who was going to demonstrate first.

"Ready?" Yuri and Asuma nodded. "Okay, here I go." The shadow master put his hands together. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

His shadow zoomed straight out in front of him and connected with Ino's. Ino, who had been moving around, froze. Shikamaru moved his arms up to his head and did the move he always did, some bizarre Egyptian dance thing. Ino mimicked it, a glare on her face. After a few seconds, Shikamaru released and Ino's body relaxed. Yuri cheered.

"Now it's my turn. Watch this, kids." Ino put her hands up before her, centering her husband. "Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Ino's body slumped to the ground. Shikamaru's body stiffened. The twins watched as their father straightened, hands on his hips.

"How do you like that?"

Yuri gasped and Asuma took a step backward. Nothing could have prepared him for the horror of hearing his mother's voice coming out of his father's body. Nothing. Not to mention the whole hand-on-hip thing. He thought, _I might actually need therapy. _

"Release!"

A moment later, Ino stood up and Shikamaru put a hand to his head. "I'll never get used to that." He shook his head, then stood in front of the twins. "Okay, who wants to go first?"

"Oh! I do! I do!" Yuri jumped up and down in excitement, waving her hand in the air. She was going to learn her first jutsu! How exciting was that?

_Yes! And Sari hasn't learned any yet! Boy is she gonna be surprised when I show her this! Cha!_

"Okay, Yuri. But I'm gonna put out a rule right now. Don't ever use the jutsu we teach you without your mother or me there. Especially not to show off to other friends." Shikamaru's dark eyes rested on Yuri. "Got it?"

Yuri slumped her shoulders and stuck out her lower lip. "Yes, sir," she grumbled. Asuma just sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Okay Yuri, let's go." The almost eight year old jumped forward and thrust her first into the air.

"Cha! Let's do this!" She paused, then turned to Shikamaru. "Now, how do I do this again?"

He showed her the finger sign. "Now, Iruka has taught you about handling your chakra, right?" Yuri nodded, her eyes blazing. "Okay, do you know the words?"

"Yes!" She practically yelled. Then she did yell, "SHADOW POSSESSION JUTSU!"

Her shadow exploded around her, then receded back to normal size. No one said anything for a second. Then Asuma burst out laughing. Yuri rounded on him, her face a monster mask.

"DON"T LAUGH! I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU DO ANY BETTER, YOU LAZY EXCUSE FOR A NINJA!"

Asuma coughed and stopped laughing, but a smirk still played around his lips. Yuri took a deep breath and but her fingers back in position. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" A small tendril of shadow crawled out, aiming in Shikamaru's general direction. It got about a foot, then shriveled back to Yuri. But it was definitely something.

"HA BEAT THAT! ONLY MY SECOND TRY AND I GOT A SHADOW TO COME OUT! WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?! HUH?!"

"Yay! Yuri that was amazing!" Yuri ran over to Ino and gave her a huge hug. Asuma and Shikamaru sighed in unison and said, "Troublesome…"

"You ready for a go?" Father said to son.

Son shrugged. "I guess. But you can't teach me. Mom has to."

He walked over to the mother-daughter hug fest and broke it up. Yuri ran back to Shikamaru to try again while Ino took over Asuma's teaching.

"Okay. You saw how I did it before, right?" Ino had known for quite some time that Asuma had inherited his father's brain. If it had not been for the hair and the eyes, Ino could have sworn she was talking to a younger Shikamaru, complete with sarcastic comments and slouched posture.

Asuma nodded. He put his fingers together. "Where should I aim?"

Ino thought for a second. "At Yuri, probably. It will be easier since she's the same size."

Asuma centered his sister in his fingers and then muttered, "Mind Transfer Jutsu." He stumbled, but then caught himself. "I almost had it!" He rubbed his head, took a breath, and got back in position. "Mind Transfer Jutsu!" The little blond boy fell to his knees, his head on his chest, eyes shut. Yuri, on the other hand, was stiff as a board.

"Shikamaru!" Shikamaru, who had been looking at his daughter in a confused sort of way, looked up at Ino. Ino pointed to their son, beaming. When he saw this, Shikamaru grinned.

Yuri straightened, looking at her hands and feeling her face. "Am I Yuri? Did I do it?"

"Yeah, I guess you did." Shikamaru clapped Asuma/Yuri on the shoulder. "Not bad, for a beginner."

"Thi-." Asuma/Yuri was cut short as Asuma's mind was sucked back to his own body. Yuri's body fell forward. A few seconds later, both twins stirred. Yuri rubbed her eyes and looked around her.

"What just happened?" She saw she was on the ground. "What am I doing down here?" Then it clicked in her mind. Her head turned slowly to look at her twin. "Oh. No. You. Did. _Not!_" Yuri hissed, her eyes dark slits in her face.

Asuma grinned nervously, getting slowly to his feet. "Uhh…"

"OH, YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!" Yuri jumped to her feet, pointing a finger at Asuma. Asuma backed away, looking genuinely terrified.

"Yuri, don't get so mad, just because I did my jutsu first-."

Yuri took one step forward. Asuma ran.

"DON'T RUN FROM ME, YOU COWARD!" She put her fingers together. "SHADOW POSSESSION JUTSU!"

Asuma froze. Yuri's shadow stretched across the green field, connecting her with her brother. Her face, a second ago so evil, became alight with glee. "OH YEAH!" She jumped up in success. Asuma did the same. Yuri started to run around, punching her fist into the air. Asuma did the same.

"I did it! I did it! I did a shadow possession jutsu! Yeah! Did you see that Dad? Did ya? I did it! I did it! I DID A SHADOW POSSESSION JUTSU!!!!!!!!"

"WILL YOU STOP JUMPING AROUND?!"

Yuri froze and looked at Asuma. She realized that they were still attached. "Whoops!" Then an evil grin spread on her face. But before she could do anything, their connection flickered and died. "Aw, man!"

Shikamaru and Ino had watched the exchange and were now looking at each other as the twins started yelling at each other. "Do we really want them to become ninja?" Shikamaru asked. "Can you imagine Yuri when she starts serious training? With _weapons_?"

They looked at each other and shared a shudder. "Well, whatever it's like, we'll be able to handle it," Ino said bracingly, throwing her arms around Shikamaru's shoulders. They watched the twins for a second. Then Rose woke up. They both turned and looked at their baby, who was watching them with those unexplainable green eyes. Then a thought came to Shikamaru's head.

"If Asuma knows the mind transfer, and Yuri know the shadow possession," he began. Ino caught on. They looked at the baby, who was smiling and gurgling happily, then at each other. "What kind of justu will she know?"

………………………………………….

Chapter Six! Yay! I hope you liked it. I wasn't exactly sure about everything I said about jutsus. I was going along the line that some were hereditary, like how Shikamaru learned the shadow possession jutsu from his father. I know they're not all like that, but whatever. This isn't a guidebook to Naruto stuff, it's a story. Which uses some characters and ideas. But that's it. Anyway, please review, and thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapters.

Okay, I know I said last chapter that I'm really busy with school and stuff, but I started another story. It's kind of like this one, but about Neji and Tenten's children, Blaire and Hizashi. I really wanted to do a scene where the elders try and give the kids the cursed seal, and I didn't think that it would fit in this story, so it developed into its own. I'm probably gonna continue that one like I did this one. I'm not trying to advertise, but I just thought that you guys would like to know that sort of stuff. I'm gonna call it The Babes of Neji and Tenten if you want to go read it. (again, I'm not trying to advertise!) I'm not telling you to read it, I just wanted you, my faithful readers, to be the first to know!

Oh, and I'm sorry that spandex didn't make into this chapter. But don't worry! They will make their debut! Eventually!


	7. Good Morning, Naras!

I don't own Naruto in this story either…sigh…

Good Morning, Nara's!

Destinations:

Shikamaru: Meet squad at 8:00. First report to Hokage at 7:15. Leave at 7:00.

Yuri and Asuma: school at 7:30. Leave at 7:20

Ino: In bed…she wishes.

Rose: …she's two. She doesn't have to go anywhere.

……………………………………………………………………….

Ino's alarm went off at exactly five forty-five a.m. **BRRRING!!!!**

"Uhhhhhhh…." She reached out a hand from the tangle of sheets and pillows and smacked it with the effective preciseness of a repeated process. Silence.

Five minutes later. **BRRRING!!!**

"Uhhhhh!" Ino's hand lifted and smacked the alarm again, this time harder. Silence.

Five minutes later. **BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!**

Ino reached out a hand to karate chop it into oblivion.

"I-no! Do NOT hit it! I don't want to spend fifteen bucks on another one!" Shikamaru's muffled voice came from underneath a fluffy pillow. Ino's hand changed direction and went to smack him on the head. But Shika was expecting this, ergo said pillow.

Ino groaned, but slowly rose from the bed. She stretched, then got up and slowly shuffled into the bathroom. Her husband's snores followed her in. She looked at herself in the mirror.

"Uhhhhhhh." She threw her long blond hair into a messy ponytail, splashed water on her face, then shuffled downstairs, throwing a thin robe over her summer night gown. The time was now six o'clock.

Rubbing her eyes and grumbling, Ino made her way into the kitchen. She pushed the "On" button on the coffee maker, then sat at the table, waiting. After about a minute, she slid down until her head lay on the table, cradled in her arms. _I'll just rest my head a minute. No big deal……_..

Ino awoke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. She picked her head up, eyes closed, relishing in that beautiful smell. Walking to the counter, empty mug in hand, the clock above the stove caught her attention.

**7:03**

"WHAT?!" Ino yelled. She couldn't have slept for almost a whole hour, could she?! She slammed her mug down on the counter and ran upstairs. "SHIKAMARU! SHIKAMARU, WAKE UP!"

_Shikamaru lay on a grassy hill, eyes closed, a slight breeze ruffling his hair. He sighed a deeply contented sigh. He was so relaxed, so peaceful. He opened his eyes to look at the clouds. The white, fluffy leviathans rolled slowly across the vast, blue sea above. _

_'That one looks like a kunai. That one looks like a bowl of ramen. That one…oh no.'_

_One huge cloud had broken free of the pack and was now rumbling slowly towards him. It was turning a purplish color and small crackles of lightning were dancing across its surface. _

_"Shikamaru….." the rumbling thunder seemed to be rumbling his name. "Shikamaru….."_

_"What the…" Shikamaru sat up, staring incredulously at the purple cloud. The surface was changing shape, morphing to look like, like… "Ino?" _

_The cloud, now a perfect resemblance of Shikamaru's wife, was now right in front of him and the thunder was louder then ever. _

"_Shikamaru!" _

_The jonin backed up against the tree. _

"_Shikamaru, wake up!!" _

"_What?" _

"_SHIKAMARU, WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

"**SHIKAMARU, WAKE UP YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE!!!!!!!!!!!!" **

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shikamaru was yanked out of his peaceful dream world by a pillow smashing down onto his head. He awoke with a start and sat up, ninja senses tingling.

"What the-."

"SHIKAMARU I OVERSELPT AND WE'RE RUNNING REALLY LATE AND YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO LEAVE THREE MINUTES AGO AND YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE TO MEET THE HOKAGE SO YOU'VE GOTTA GET UP **NOW**!"

Ino stopped, gasping in air. Shikamaru stared at her for a second, not moving and looking a little frightened. After regaining control of her breathing, she looked at him sitting there.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHY AREN'T YOU PANICING DIDN'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I JUST SAID!?"

"Um…no."

"**WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!? I OVERSLEPT AND NOW YOU'RE LATE TO SEE THE HOKAGE!!!!" **

"WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT BEFORE!" Shikamaru leapt out of bed and ran to his closet. He grabbed clothes and shoved them on, then he ran to the bathroom. Two seconds later he ran back out, but then went back in almost immediately. Then he ran into the hall, back into the room, all over the place at a speed that could have rivaled an un-weighted Lee.

Ino was temporarily frozen in place. Had she ever seen him move that fast? Ever? She didn't think so. Then she snapped back to reality.

"I'll get you breakfast!" She yelled, and then hurried to the kitchen. As she passed the kids room, she skidded to a halt. _I've gotta wake up the kids!_ She turned around and burst through the door.

"Yuri, Asuma, wake up! You've gotta leave in fifteen minutes!"

She ran back out of the room, but stopped when she heard a cry from the other room. "Mama!"

_Rose!_ Ino turned into the nursery. Rose was standing up in her crib, rattling the bars, yelling, "Mama! Mama! Me out! Me out!"

Ino smiled when she saw her baby. She momentarily forgot about the mad rush for school and work, lost in love for the almost three-year-old. Ino walked up to the crib and picked Rose up, snuggling her close.

"Morning, baby." Ino kissed Rose's soft, blond head.

Rose planted a kiss on her mommy's cheek, wrapping her small arms around Ino's neck. "Mama, me hungy."

"You want breakfast, sweetie?" Ino touched Rose on the nose, causing Rose to giggle. Outside in the hallway, a panicking Shikamaru ran past the door, tugging on his chunin vest.

"Ino!" He called down into the kitchen, "Ino, did you make the coffee?" Shikamaru ran down the stairs, pulling his hair up into a ponytail. Ino, snuggling Rose, walked out of the room and down the stairs as though she didn't have a care in the world. She floated down the stairs and walked gracefully into the kitchen.

"INO, DID YOU MAKE BREAKFAST?!" If Shikamaru had been meeting anyone besides the Hokage, he wouldn't have been panicking. But, since it was, he could not be late. When Shikamaru got now response to his question, he yelled, "INO! INO, WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Shikamaru turned around as Ino waltzed into the kitchen carrying Rose. He froze, an eyebrow twitching. Ino stopped and looked up at him. They stared at each other for a minute. Shikamaru's stomach rumbled.

"I FORGOT TO MAKE BREAKFAST!"

Ino gave a great, shuddering gasp and her eyes bulged. She quickly put Rose in the highchair and began running around the kitchen, grabbing anything edible and thrusting it in Shikamaru's hands. Shikamaru watched as his hands began to fill up. A tomato…a jar of peanut butter…salt shaker…cocktail onions…a whisk.

_O-kay…_. Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched a little more pronouncedly.

Ino shoved a box of pancake mix into her husband's hands with a decisive sigh. "Alright, that should do it." She wiped her forehead with the back of her arm, panting slightly.

"Uh…" Shikamaru looked at the diverse arrangement of food (and metal) in his hands. "Ino…"

"Have a good day at work! You've got," she looked at the clock, "Four minutes to get to the Hokage's office!"

"FOUR MINUTES!?!" Shikamaru started and ran out of the kitchen, nearly spilling his 'breakfast' on Yuri, but he managed to stop just in time. He kissed her on the head, yelling, "BYE, KIDS!" He slipped on his sandals and hurried out the front door, biting into the tomato as he ran.

Ino sighed, then remembered something. She dashed out the still open door and onto the sidewalk. "HONEY!" She yelled to Shikamaru's retreating figure. "SHIKA, YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUN! YOU CAN JUST PUFF THERE, RIGHT?!!!"

Shikamaru froze, then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Ino, smiling slightly, went back inside to find a surly looking eight-year-old eating a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table.

"What's the matter, Yuri? And where's your brother?" Ino asked.

"Rose took the toy that was in the box," she said, pointing with her spoon at said sister, who was now banging a cheap, plastic figurine against the table, laughing. "And _he's_ still in bed."

"WHAT?!?" Ino stomped out into the hallway and yelled, "ASUMA, YOU HAVE TO LEAVE IN SEVEN MINUTES! YOU GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

She waited for a response. Nothing. "ASUMA, GET UP!" Nothing again. "DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE!" Ino slammed her foot on the bottom step.

"I'M UP I'M UP I'M UP!" There was a thud as Asuma fell out of bed. He came bolting out the door and hurried down the stairs.

Ino followed him into the kitchen, then set to work making their lunches.

_Hm…_she thought as she made the sandwiches. _I wonder what happened to the peanut butter?_

The twins finished eating and ran upstairs to get dressed. A minute later, two voices echoed down from the second floor.

"MOM, HAVE YOU SEEN MY BROWN PANTS?!?"

"MOM, WHERE'S MY BLUE T-SHIRT?!?"

"NO WAY, SHE'S FINDING MY PANTS FIRST!"

"SAYS WHO?!?"

"ME!"

"WHY SHOULD SHE FIND YOURS FIRST?! MY SHIRT'S JUST AS IMPORTANT!"

"NO IT'S NOT! EVERYONE KNOWS GIRLS CLOTHES ARE BETTER THAN BOYS'!!!!"

"THEY'RE NOT BETTER, GIRLS JUST CARE ABOUT THEM MORE!!"

"THAT MAY BE, BUT THEY'RE STILL BETTER!!"

"**WILL YOU TWO STOP YELLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" **

"BUT MOM, HE STARTED IT!"

"NO I DIDN'T!"

"YES, YOU DID!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"NOOOO!"

"YESSSSS!"

**"I DON'T CARE WHO STARTED IT BUT I PROMISE THAT THE NEXT PERSON WHO YELLS WILL BE DOING THE DISHES UNTIL THEY ARE FORTY-FIVE YEARS OLD!!!!" **

Silence.

Ino sighed contentedly, putting aside the kids' finished lunches.

"Mama!" Ino turned around. "Mama, 'till hungy!"

"Oh, my baby, I'm so sorry!" Ino stepped over and hugged Rose in the highchair. "I'll make you breakfast right now."

A few minutes later…**7:21**

"Yuri, Asuma, you're going to be _late_!" Ino stood in the kitchen, feeding Rose her breakfast, only half of which was on the plate. The other half was spread over the chair, the table, Rose's bib, and Ino's face and nightgown. Rose was having a blast, but Ino's patience was gone. "KIDS, YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE!!!"

A series of clumps, bumps, and shrieks were heard from the hallway as the twins half ran half fell down the stairs. They opened the door and were half way out when…

"DON'T FORGET YOUR LUNCHES!!!"

Asuma and Yuri changed direction and ran into the kitchen. They grabbed their lunches and bolted. As Yuri's dark ponytail disappeared out the door, Ino yelled,

"HAVE A GOOD DAY AT SCHOOL!"

She turned back to Rose, just in time to receive a face full of egg. Ino's face got very red. Rose laughed merrily, banging her spoon on the table. Ino held her anger for a second, but then let it go with a sigh and slumped down in her chair. Within seconds, she was fast asleep. And she never even had her cup of coffee.

……………………………………………………

Wow, I am SO sorry for the wait. The combination of school, a one-shot, writer's bloc, and ending your first epic just made it impossible for me to update. I am very very sorry and I thank you all for sticking with this.

I had so much fun writing this chapter, once I got into it, and I hope that you all had fun reading it. I promise that someday, the missing family will come. I just can't manage to get them in.

Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed, and to those of you who haven't reviewed, could you please try and get into the habit? It's not that hard. All it takes is a couple clicks of the mouse, a couple words like, 'good chapter' or 'that was cute', and that's all! And then, after you review, I'll reply to it! It's amazing that so simple an act can bring such happiness to a person.

Thanks again, and I'll update as soon as I can.

Thank you to purpleface14, who, back in chapter four, noticed that Nemar's name is actually Ramen spelled backwards! Good job!


	8. Thunderstorms Part 1

I don't own Naruto

Chapter Eight: Thunderstorms

The house that contained Shikamaru, Ino, Yuri, Asuma, and Rose was not a big house, but not a small house either. It was just right. Downstairs was a small entrance room attached to the hallway. The living room went off from the hall, as did the kitchen, one bathroom, a small study, and a supply closet.

The stairs were located in the hallway. The hallway upstairs was open, with just a railing separating it from the lower level. The three bedrooms were located in this hall, all in a row. At the end was the bathroom and another closet. And then there was a basement and a good-sized yard.

The bedrooms were distributed as such. Ino and Shikamaru had the biggest room at the end of the hall, closest to the bedroom. Rose had the middle room, which was also the smallest, all to her self. Asuma and Yuri shared the room closest to the stairs. Everyone had been fine with this arrangement. Until six months after the twins' eighth birthday.

"Mom, can I talk to you?" Asuma leaned against the doorframe in the kitchen, arms folded, looking at his mother with level blue eyes. It was a Saturday afternoon in the middle of April. Shikamaru had taken Yuri and Rose out to a "Father-daughter Ninja Bonding Day" thing. The shadow master had not wanted to go, but Tsunade had forced all of her male ninja with children go. It was not an option. So, he had left that morning with the two girls, facing a day filled with many "bonding" activities.

This left Ino and Asuma alone in the house for an entire day.

Ino turned from the sink where she was washing dishes, wiping her bangs out of her face with a soapy hand. "Yeah? What is it?"

He hesitated. "I've been thinking."

Ino, on the inside, smirked. This was one big difference between her husband and her son. Even though the two were very alike in almost every aspect of their personalities, there was one big difference between the two: how they used their brains.

Shikamaru was a genius. End of story, no questions asked. But he also thought many things were troublesome. He used his brain mainly for two things: his missions and other ninja things, and Go and Shogi. When he had been in school, he had thought it was too troublesome to actually write anything down, so he ended up with atrocious grades.

Asuma, on the other hand, loved to use his intelligence. He had definitely inherited Shikamaru's brains; there was no doubt about that. Asuma was top of his class academically, much to the annoyance of his sister, who was fifth. He was always looking for ways to test his capabilities, doing mind games and word puzzles and such. But his favorite thing to do, apart from sleeping under trees, was to go out and start conversations with random adults, just to see if they could match him. Most couldn't. But the one thing that Asuma never did was brag. He is a very humble person, and, upon receiving a compliment, will often blush and look away, mumbling something no one could hear.

So, back to the story, Ino was not surprised that Asuma had been thinking. He did that a lot.

"What were you thinking about?" She turned around and leaned back against the sink. _I hope he doesn't ask anything that actually requires me to think. I'm still confused about our last conversation._

Asuma looked at her, then said, "I'm the only boy child in this family. And Yuri and Rose are both girls. But Yuri and I are the ones sharing a room. I feel that it's only right that Yuri and Rose share and that I get my own room."

Ino stared at him for a second, thinking. _Well. This is unexpected. But it's reasonable._

"We'll ask Dad when he gets home. And Yuri. And Rose."

"Fine."

………………………………………………….

"Wasn't that fun, Dad?! I just can't get over it! Boy, I can't wait for next year!"

Shikamaru, Yuri, and Rose were walking back from their day of bonding. Yuri had loved the entire day, and was now replaying it back to her father and sister as though they hadn't been there. But they had.

"And then, when you had to carry us all the way up the side of the tower using your chakra to keep us from falling, that was so cool! And only you and Sasuke had two kids, everyone else only had one. No wonder Neji and Blaire won! Neji didn't even really need to use chakra because Blaire could just hold on!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but smiled at the same time. It _had_ been a challenge climbing up Hokage Tower with his girls, but he had enjoyed it. Down by his knee, Rose gave a huge yawn. _She must be exhausted. She's getting a nap a soon as we get home._

"And then when we had that whole sack race thing, it was amazing!" She jumped up and down on her feet, still filled with energy. "I can't wait fro next year! Cha!" Yuri ran a few steps ahead and did a high kick, calling her battle cry.

"Me to! Me to!" Rose, now four, also tried to do a kick but fell over and landed on her bottom in the dirt.

Yuri and Shikamaru froze. Both looked with horrified gazes at Rose's face. The blonde bit her lip and her large green eyes filled with tears.

"Rose, it's okay! It's not a big deal-." Shikamaru tried to comfort his daughter before she blew up, but his attempts were in vain.

"Rosie, don't cry! D-." Yuri, too, tried to stop her sister, but was making no more progress than her father.

"I-I-I can't d-do i-it!" Tears poured out of Rose's eyes and down her round, rosy cheeks. "WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Both Yuri and Shikamaru jammed their fingers in their ears as Rose's wails hit them with astounding force.

"WAAAAHHHH!!!!"

"ROSE, IT'S OKAY!!!!"

"STOP CRYING!!"

"WAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Shikamaru and Yuri looked desperately at each other, not knowing what to do. They were usually the cause of Rose's crying (not intentionally, obviously), and Ino was the one who soothed her. But now Ino was not here, and the two were lost.

"Look at me, Rose!" Yuri made a funny face at her sister, but received nothing more than an increase in the volume of the screeching.

Shikamaru picked up Rose and swung her around; an action that normally would have made her laugh and giggle. No such luck this time.

Then an idea hit Shikamaru. He put Rose down and stood in front of her.

"Look, Rose, I can't do it either!" Shikamaru raised a leg and threw a wild kick at nothing, overbalancing and falling into the dirt.

Rose stopped crying. She looked at her father with watery eyes, then burst out in a fit of giggles.

Shikamaru and Yuri both sighed in relief. The three continued on towards home, Yuri continuing her reminiscing about their day.

"And then, when you and Naruto had to…."

……………………………………..

That night, over dinner, Ino brought up Asuma's request.

"So, Shika, what do you think?" Ino looked at her husband while cutting Rose's chicken.

Shikamaru was silent for a second, thinking. A pair of dark eyes and a pair of blue eyes watched him closely from the opposite side of the table.

_What? Why does he want to switch? _Yuri thought.

"I don't see why not," Shikamaru said. "What do you think, girls?"

"Yay! Boys gots cooties anyways." Rose latched onto Yuri's arm and smiled up at her. "We're gonna be Roomates!"

"Uh…" Yuri looked down at her sister, an uneasy look on her face. "I don't know…" Did Yuri really want to share a room with Rose? This hyper, happy, peppy, green-eyed little thing? Even though Asuma didn't do much, nothing was better then somethings, and sharing a room with Rose was one of them. Yuri grimaced.

_Oh god, I do __not__ want to share a room with her. She may be adorable and all, and, yeah, we would get a lot of sister-bonding time, but… _

Shikamaru and Ino exchanged a look, both noticing Yuri's unease.

"Well…why don't you think about it?" Shikamaru looked at the twins. "Spend one more night in your rooms, then we'll decide."

Later, as everyone was cleaning up the kitchen, the first flash of lightning, and the first dull rumble of thunder, could be seen and heard.

…………………………………………….

To be continued in Part 2…


	9. Thunderstorms Part 2

I don't own Naruto

Chapter Eight: Thunderstorms

Part 2

The Nara house, for once, was quiet. The dishes were all washed. The lights were all off. Five pairs of ninja sandals were neatly lined up by the door. A small pile of finished homework lay on the kitchen table next to a scribbled picture of a flower. Every so often the images were thrown into sharp relief as the lightning outside flashed. The howling wind and harsh clatter of rain outside were a harsh contrast to the peacefulness within.

Shikamaru and Ino were asleep in their bed, arms wrapped around each other, both with small smiles on their faces. In her little bedroom, Rose lay curled under her blankets, blond hair splayed over the pillow, sucking her thumb. In the room next door, Asuma was sound asleep, snoring slightly. In the bed across from Asuma's, a pair of dark eyes watched the second hand of the clock slowly make its way around and around. It read 2:26.

_How long is this storm going to last?_ She closed her eyes tightly, wrapping the blanket more firmly around her. _It's already been-._

BOOM! A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed seconds later by a huge clap of thunder.

Yuri gasped and dove under her pillow, shivering all over. _Why am I so afraid? I'm not scared of anything! But whenever there's a storm like this…._

She wished she could just go and crawl into bed with her parents, like she had when she was younger. _But I'm older now. That's what babies do. And I'm not a baby._

Yuri sat up, a determined look on her face. _That's right. I'm a big girl. I'm practically nine! I'm not afraid of a little thunderstorm!_

**BOOM!!!!**

The biggest crack so far hit the house. Yuri let out a little scream and dove back under the blankets.

_I'm a big girl. I'm a big girl. I'm a big girl…_.

……………………………………………………………..

Asuma was not sure why he woke up. He had been in the middle of a very nice dream involving a large, chocolate sundae, and just as he was about to take the first bite, he had woken up. He tried not to open his eyes, hoping to reenter the dream world, but he could not. The spell was broken. He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes, frustrated.

_Jeez-Louise, why did I wake up?_ Another crack of thunder boomed outside._ And how is anyone supposed to get any sleep with this thunderstorm making such a racket? _

He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the storm.

There were the obvious noises, such as the thunder and the howling, whining wind, but then there were subtler sounds not always noticed. The wild creaking of the swingset as the wind buffeted them back and forth on their chains. The steady rush of water as it flowed down the drainpipe. The different sounds the rain made when it hit different things. The steady ticking of the clock hanging above the door. The quiet, almost muffled sniffs and mutterings of…

_What's that?_

Asuma listened harder, focusing on the unidentifiable sound. It was hard to place. He had heard it before, but could not figure out where it was coming from.

_It sounds like somebody crying. But…oh. _ And then he realized what it was.

He sat up and threw off the blanket. Quickly and quietly, he closed the distance between his bed and that of his twin. She was curled up into a ball, head stuffed under the pillow. Two small hands were holding the pillow down firmly, determined to block out any and all noise. But they were failing at keeping sound in, for now Asuma could clearly hear his sister's crying.

"Yuri." He reached out and touched her shoulder lightly. She jumped and buried her head further into the bed. "Yuri!"

A loud clap of thunder sent Yuri even farther under the pillow, shivering all over.

He sighed and pushed her over, making room for himself on her bed. He put a hand on her back and gently patted it. He began humming tunelessly, just for the sake of doing something.

After a few minutes, Yuri relaxed a little. She let go of the pillow and sat up, swiping at her cheeks with her arm. "I'm not scared, you know," she said fiercely. "And I'm _not_ crying."

Asuma opened his mouth to answer, but then a crack of thunder hit, sounding as though the heavens above were splitting open. Yuri screamed and grabbed onto her brother, holding onto him as though her life depended on it.

As soon as she grabbed him, her twin tensed, but then relaxed. Asuma hugged his sister as she pressed her face into his shoulder. They rode out the remainder of the storm like that, Asuma patting Yuri's head as she hung onto him.

Finally, at 3:10, the rumblings of thunder seemed to become less earth shattering and more like the occasional, dull 'boom'. The soft pitter-pattering of the rain and the soft swooshing of the leaves replaced the crash and boom. One brave cricket even started to chirp, his song soon joined by the sweet chirps of the frogs.

Yuri sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her movement awoke Asuma, who had drifted off to sleep. They looked at each other for a minute, taking in every detail of the other's face. If they had been the same gender, they would have been identical, apart from the hair and the eyes.

After a minute, Asuma spoke. "Well, if your done with the whole crying thing, I'm just gonna go back to sleep." He stood, stretched, and walked over to his bed. On the way, he was hit in the back of the head with a pillow.

"In your dreams. I wasn't crying."

"Su-ure."

"Asuma?" Yuri way on her back, looking at the ceiling.

"Hn?" Asuma was already starting to fall asleep.

"Are you still gonna switch rooms?"

"…No…"

As the twins lay in their beds, both falling quickly into slumber land, they shared their first thought connection.

_I'm glad your not moving…_Yuri thought, a smile on her face.

_So am I…_Asuma agreed.

If they had been a little more awake, they would have realized what had just happened.

……………………………………………………………………………..

Whoa…chapter eight! I thought up the two parts of this chapter separately, and then I realized I could put them together! It was like a lightning bolt! And I liked the way they turned out, so that was even more amazing. I liked the idea of putting the two together, but at the same time wanted them separate. So that's why I did the two parter. Anyway.

I probably should have updated my other story before this one, but I wanted to do this so badly! So I did. Ha!

When I thought of this, I realized that most of the Yuri/Asuma moments were of them fighting, and I wanted to include some twin bonding time. Of course, I don't have a twin, so I can only imagine, and use what I gathered from other books and stuff. And I came up with the idea at the end as I was writing it, and now I'm really excited! Yeah!

Okay. I think that's about it. So now the usual. Thanks to all those who reviewed, and please review for this chapter! Thanks a bunch!

P.S. In the last chapter, I did not mean to make it seem like Shikamaru was in anyway unintelligent. I only wanted to stress that Asuma used his brain for academinc things, unlike Shikamaru. That's all. Part of why I love Shika is because he is so smart. 


	10. Oh No! It's Happening Again!

I don't own Naruto…

**I got the idea for this part from one of the episodes that showed Iruka yelling at Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji for something. Then all of them just ignored him and ran out the window. It was amazing! **

Chapter Nine: Oh no, it's happening again!

In the time when the Rookie Nine walked the halls of the Ninja Acadamy, there was a group of four troublemakers who were the main reason for the few white hairs Iruka Umino has. They caused trouble and mischief from the time they were in the four-year-old group right up until they graduated. No students have ever even come close to the accomplishments of those four. To the future troublemakers, their names were said with almost as much awe and respect as the Hokage's. They were legends.

Their names were Naruto Uzamaki, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Kiba Inuzuka.

No one has forgotten the mischief they caused during their school days, especially Iruka. The day those four graduated, he threw himself a party.

"Never again!" He yelled while dancing around his apartment. "Never again will I have such troublemakers! I never have to teach another lesson with those four in the class! Never again!"

Iruka was right. He never did have to teach those four again. Instead, he got something worse. He got all of their children.

………………………………………………………..

"IRUKA-SENSEI, I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!!!!" Tam jumped up and down in his chair, hand raised in the air, waving it frantically. "IRUKA-SENSEI!"

Next to him, Chiara Akimichi put a hand over her face. "Tam, you're _such_ an idiot…"

The two eight-year-olds were sitting in their classroom, listening to Iruka talk about shuriken and the proper way to throw them. The other students were listening intently…well, at least they were pretending to.

Tam, however, took greatly after his father. He had a very little attention span, very little desire to be sitting in a classroom in the first place, and he had an overwhelmingly powerful urge to cause mischief. Of course, he was quite a handful alone, but he was an even more devious being when accompanied by certain others, including Asuma Nara, Nemar Akimichi, and Iro Inuzuka.

Asuma, Iro, Nemar were a year older then Tam, thus in a different class, but they still managed to find time to prank with him. Or course, there were other school troublemakers (Yuri was never one to miss out on a good prank), but these four were the leaders.

Sadly, though, Iro Inuzuka was not always around. Since his mother was Temari of the Sand and his father was Kiba of the Leaf, Iro and his three siblings had to split their time between the two villages. They had an arrangement so that they trained in both the Sand academy and the Leaf, depending on where they were.

Outwardly, the Inuzuka children's appearances varied. Iro, who was the same age as the twins, had brown hair like Kiba, while the three younger ones, six-year-old Lela, five-year-old Mackenzie, and four-year-old Otan, had blond hair, like their mother. They all got Temari's dark eyes.

Personalities wise, all of the children were pretty much the same. The four were a combination of their parents. There was not a group of more stubborn children in the entire village, or any with such quick tempers. The villagers could thank both parents for these qualities, seeing as Kiba and Temari were two of the most stubborn and quick-tempered people in all of Leaf _and_ Suna. Combined!

But currently, the Inuzuka family was in Leaf, so Iro and the others were attending the Leaf academy. Had Iro been in class with Tam at the moment, he would have cracked up with laughter.

Iruka sighed heavily and put a hand to his forehead. "Tam," he said in an overly patient voice. "I've _told_ you before. You just need to raise your hand, and then I will call on you. You don't need to yell, or jump around, or throw things at me." He rubbed the bruise on his forehead, caused by a rock the boy had thrown at him yesterday to get his attention.

_I swear I've told him this everyday since the beginning of the year and it still hasn't sunk in…he really __is__ his father's son._

"I know, Iruka-sensei," Tam squirmed in his chair, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "But," Tam bit his lip, then practically yelled, "I'VE JUST REALLY GOTTA GO!" Flecks of spit flew from his mouth and landed on Iruka, who was standing ten feet in front of him.

The jonin's eyebrow twitched and an anger mark appeared on is forehead. He raised a shaking hand and slowly wiped his face.

"Tam-."

"I'M SORRY IRUKA-SENSEI, BUT-."

"Tam-I-am-standing-ten-feet-in-front-of-you-you-do-not-need-to-yell." Iruka said in one breath, his patience almost gone.

Tam squirmed for a moment, a look of concentration on his face. Iruka actually thought that maybe, just maybe, Tam had actually listened to him. But…

**"IRUKA-SENSEI CAN I ****PLEASE**** JUST GO TO THE BATHROOM?!?!?!" **

The calm interior that the jonin had built up inside, just for these types of situations, cracked and shattered into a million pieces.

_THAT IS __IT_

Iruka opened his mouth to yell his guts out…and then the bell rang.

"RECESS!" All of the eight-year-olds jumped out of their seats and ran, yelling and screaming for the freedom of the playground. There was a slight hold up at the door, everyone trying to get out at once, but finally it broke through and everyone was gone.

As the last child ran out, Iruka sighed heavily and leaned back against his desk, closing his eyes. _Finally_, he thought, _forty-five minutes of peace and quiet._ He thought about reading a book, possibly taking a short nap, maybe having a soothing cup of tea…and then his moment of peace was shattered again with one, horrifying, earth-shattering realization.

_**I have recess duty today.**_

Iruka fell to his knees and raised his arms to the heavens.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

………………………………………………………

Asuma sat down with a sigh at the base of his favorite schoolyard tree. He was exhausted. All morning, their teacher (one, Hanabi Hyuga) had tried to teach the nine-year-olds how to throw a kunai or shuriken while flying through the air after being hit by an enemy. Of course, to make it seem more realistic, Hanabi had insisted on throwing the students from her, sending them soaring in every direction at every possible angle, expecting them to throw their weapons at her.

Most kids did not really get what they were doing and landed in heaps, confused, bruised, and being yelled at by a very angry Hyuga.

He himself had managed to throw it each time, but came even remotely close to his teacher only once or twice.

Nemar, sitting next to Asuma, felt like one solid bruise, having been "accidentally" thrown into a tree. Of course, it had nothing to do with the prank that Nemar had played on their teacher the day before, involving a frog, a pitcher of lemonade, and a windup mouse. No way.

"I can't feel my arms," Sari whimpered, sitting down next to Nemar, holding her arms gingerly out in front of her, and resembling a pink haired mummy. The Uchiha girl had proved to be very bad at Hanabi's exercise and was constantly falling onto her face, often not even managing to throw her weapon at all. It seemed that the girl had not inherited her father's extraordinary abilities.

Blaire, standing in front of them, stretched her arms above her head and winced, saying through clenched teeth, "No, I can still feel mine." She too sat down. Her hair, which she had bobbed short, was disheveled and had several sticks protruding from it, which she removed with a pained grimace on her face.

Yuri did not have the strength to speak. She stumbled over to the group and then collapsed next to Asuma, eyes closed. She, too, had somehow been thrown into a tree, although, unlike Nemar who actually managed to land first on his feet, then fall into the tree, she had simply hit it in the air. Again, the fact that she had been thrown into a tree had _nothing_ to do with the part she had played in the prank, which, on top of the frog, lemonade, and windup mouse, included a fishing pole, a bag of marshmallows, and a camera.

Iro also sat down under the tree, completely beat. His part in the prank had gone unnoticed, so he had not suffered Nemar and Yuri's fate. But he was still sore and tired.

"Man, I'm almost glad I don't stay here for the whole year. She's _scary_!" ('She' referring to Hanabi). Iro's puppy, a little black dog named Kuromaru (Kuro for short), came over and started jumping around, obviously wanting to play. She nibbled on Iro's sandal, then climbed onto him and began licking his cheeks, right on his red Inuzuka tattoes. Iro smiled, then continued to Blaire, "I can't believe she's related to your aunt."

"I know," Blaire replied, thinking of her quiet and gentle Aunt Hinata. "They're like complete opposites."

They fell silent. After a minute, Blaire realized just how quiet it actually was. It wasn't silent, obviously, because the other classes, from the four year olds to the twelve year olds, were also outside, enjoying themselves after a morning of classes. But there was a noticeable lack of noise coming from the nine year olds. Blaire looked around at the group assembled under the tree and realized that someone was missing. "Hey," she said, "Where's-."

"MY YOUTHFUL CLASSMATES, I HAVE RETURNED!!!"

They all winced Ganseki, oldest child and only son of the famous Rock Lee, ran up to meet them, closely followed by his two younger sisters, Seinen, who was eight, and Hazumi, who was five, both of whom lined up behind him, facing Ganseki's classmates.

Lee's children were a sight, whether a good sight or a bad one was up to the person seeing them. All three wore green spandex (although Seinen had somehow managed to make a cute little dress out of hers instead of a jumpsuit) and orange leg warmers. None of them had inherited their mother's hair; instead all of them had the Green Beast's shiny black locks. Ganseki wore his in a bowl cut, just like his dad's, while Seinen and Hazumi had theirs in short pigtails. Lee's wife, Kairi, seemed to have been packed full of recessive genes, for all three children also shared their father's eyebrows, his inability to do genjutsu or ninjutsu, _and_ his "youthful" personality obsession-thing.

Ganseki jumped into the nice-guy pose and said, "I AM SORRY FOR NOT ACCOMPANYING YOU ALL FROM OUR TRAINING GROUND, BUT I HAD TO LOCATE MY SISTERS AND TELL THEM ABOUT OUR AMAZING TRAINING SESSION!"

Seinen and Hazumi both imitated their brother's pose.

"IT SOUNDED VERY INVIGORATING AND EXCITING!" Seinen said, looking at her brother's classmates.

Hazumi nodded her agreement, beaming, and all three of them gave off such blindingly white and powerful smiles that the group under the tree was temporarily blinded.

"Ah! My eyes!" Sari, had she been able to move her arms, would have thrown them over her eyes, but she couldn't, seeing as they were too sore. She fell over backwards, trying to protect them.

Blaire and Iro managed to protect themselves, but Nemar, Yuri, and Asuma were too slow. They sat there, stunned looks on their faces with their pupils dilated to little pinpricks.

After a minute, Ganseki noticed his classmates' unusual behavior and stopped smiling. His sisters followed suit.

"MY YOUTHFUL COMRADES, WHAT EVIL HAS BEFALLEN YOU?!" He looked at his friends with a concerned expression on his face. No one answered for a minute. Then Asuma snapped out of his daze.

"N-nothing, Ganseki," Asuma stuttered, blinking wildly and trying to regain his composure. "D-don't worry about it."

"ALRIGHT, I WILL TRY NOT TO!" Ganseki turned to his sisters and said, "I MUST GO SEE HANABI-SENSEI AND ASK HER IF SHE COULD DO MORE TRAINING WITH ME! I WILL SEE YOU BOTH LATER!"

Hazumi and Seinen saluted their brother and watched as he ran away. When he was gone, they split up, Hazumi off to join Hizashi and Mackenzie Inuzuka, Seinen to find Chiara.

The nine year olds, or at least those who could see, looked at each other, then all fell back to the ground, exhausted. They had been in silence for only a minute, however, when a certain blond eight year old came running over to them and yelled,

"HEY!!!! WHY ARE YOU ALL ASLEEP?!?!?!?!"

The six under the tree all jumped a foot in the air. They landed in a heap, completely rattled. Asuma looked up and glared at Tam. He opened his mouth to retort, but Tam kept talking.

"HEY GUYS! GUESS WHAT? GUESS WHAT?" Tam ignored all of the death glares he was receiving and spoke to Asuma, Nemar, and Iro, positively exploding with excitement.

There was a long silence.

"What, Tam?"

Tam looked at his fellow troublemakers and said, with an evil grin and in a much quieter voice, "Iruka-sensei is on lunch duty today."

Kiba's, Naruto's, Shikamaru's, and Choji's sons all looked at each other with identical evil expressions. The three seated boys stood and they looked at Asuma, who already had his eyes closed, thinking. Kuro jumped up onto Iro's head, tail wagging excitedly.

The girls, still seated, sighed and ignored them. Yuri was tempted to join in, but then decided against it after her back gave a twinge of pain. Iruka did not punish like Hanabi, or hold a grudge, but still. She decided against it. Blaire and Sari were not interested at all. Blaire just didn't care and Sari was in too much pain.

After a minute, Asuma opened his eyes, a mischievous look having taken up residence in their wide blueness. "Got it."

"ALRIGHT!" Tam jumped up into the air. "LET'S GO!"

….

….

Iruka had delayed all that he could. He talked to everyone that he passed in the hallway, asking how they were, what they were doing, do they need any help, etc etc. he even engaged Ganseki in conversation, but the boy could not stay long, "saying" (well, what he considers saying, but everyone else calls it a shout) that he had to go see Hanabi-sensei. After that, Iruka ran into no one and all too soon, he came to the door that led out to the playground.

_Okay. You can do this, Iruka. Don't worry. They're just kids. What could they possibly do to a jonin like you? _Pictures flooded his head, showing the children surrounding Iruka, who was tied to a pole, and lighting a fire, all with hungry expressions on their faces… _No! NOT a good idea._ _Don't think about that…I'll just keep it cool…_

He took a deep breath, then pushed the doors open.

The playground was filled with screaming, playing, and yelling kids ranging from the age of four to twelve. He alerted his ninja senses, then took in the scene.

The oldest group, those who would be graduating at the end of the year, were all relaxing in a far corner, relishing in the power of being the oldests. Their minds were already out of the academy, thinking about which of their classmates will become their teammates and who their squad leader will be and whether or not they will know the jonin or even like their teammates…Ah, seniority…

Moving along, Iruka saw Hizashi Hyuga and Lee's daughter Hazumi play-sparring over by the edge of the fence.

_They're just like their parents, _Iruka thought, watching the Huyga Prodigy's son and the little girl in spandex throwing awkward punches and kicks at each other. At one point, Hazumi over threw a kick and toppled over. Both of them laughed, then continued on.

_Wait…where's Mackenzie?_ Iruka looked around the two sparrers, but did not see the little dog girl anywhere. _That's strange. Those three always play together. Maybe she's with her sister._

The jonin's eyes searched the yard until he found Mackenzie's older sister Lela, playing with Sammy Uchiha and Kenta Akimichi. Sammy was much like his father in that he did not like to talk a lot, but his silence was due more to shyness than aloofness. Kenta was partly like his mother and partly like his father. He liked to smile, like Emi, and he also had red hair. He liked to eat, like Choji, and he was very laid back. He didn't like to be in charge, and Sammy was too shy to be, so that left the position of Group Leader to Lela.

Lela loved being in charge. She loved being the dominant female. She loved beating boys at almost anything. She was very much like her mother. Sometimes it scared Kiba just how alike the two were. But Lela loved it. She planned on being a great kunoichi one day, just like her mother and just like Lady Tsunade. The first step to doing that was being a good ninja. And right now, that meant leading Sammy and Kenta.

Iruka watched as a group of seven year olds walked over to the three, led by a boy who walked as though he owned the world. When the group reached Sammy, Kenta, and Lela, the boy spoke to Sammy. Sammy just looked down at his feet, looking uncomfortable. The boy, getting angry, turned instead to Kenta, who did nothing but mumble something, smiling at the angry boy, making him even angrier. He took an angry step toward the two boys, his voice louder. The boys backed up.

Enter Lela Inuzuka. She stepped up in front of the boys, hands on hips, talking confidently to the boy. He looked taken aback, then a sneer appeared on his face. He finally spoke directly to the little blond girl. Both his body language and his voice were so patronizing that Iruka almost felt like punishing the boy himself. But Lela beat him to it. With a cool expression, she pulled back her leg and kicked the boy in the shin with all her might. He yelped and grabbed his leg. Lela spoke to him, imitating his posture and tone from before. He glared at her and straightened, balling his hands into fists.

Lela kneed him in the groin.

He doubled over in pain. Lela turned her fierce dark eyes to the other boys as though challenging them. They turned and ran, dragging their friend with them.

Iruka smiled as he watched the three, who returned to playing whatever they had been playing before. _It's interesting how they're already so close at such a young age. They would work amazing together if they were on the same genin squad._ But there were still six years before they got their squads. He would think about that later. But back to finding Mackenzie…._So she's not there. Maybe she's with Otan? _

The jonin moved his gaze from Lela, Sammy, and Kenta and searched the playground for the little Inuzuka boy. _He's normally with Rose, Shuri, and Anni, so if I can just find them…_But he did not see any of the four four-year-olds he was looking for. His eyes passed the large tree where the Nara twins and their friends usually hung out. He saw Yuri, Sari, and Blaire sitting in the shade, along with Seinen and Chiara, but none of the boys…hmmm.

Iruka started sweating. _This can't be good. No Mackenzie, no Rose, Anni, Shuri, or Otan, no Asuma, Nemar, Iro, or Tam…uh oh._ He quickly scanned the area again, desperately searching for the missing children.

Nothing.

_Okay, Iruka, don't panic. This doesn't necessarily mean that they're pulling a prank, or messing with anything. Maybe they're just…um…all at the bathroom…at the same time…yeah. That's it. _

Despite his own reassurances, he started to slowly back up, heading toward the safety of the school wall. He was almost there when…

"AHHH!! IRUKA-SENSEI!!!" He jumped a foot in the air, throwing his arms over his head to protect himself. But nothing came at him. He looked down and saw Rose standing in front of him, her large green eyes looking up at him and her lower-lip trembling slightly.

"Ooh, Rose, you scared me." Iruka put a hand to his chest, feeling his heart rate begin to return too normal. "What's the matter?"

"Well…" The little blond girl's lip trembled even more and her eyes became shiny with held back tears. "Shuri an' Anni an' me wanna play house with Otan, but he won't be the baby!"

For a second, Iruka was speechless. _Is that all? _Then he smiled and said, "Well, let's go see if we can change his mind. Okay?"

Rose gave him a small, innocent smile and took his hand, leading him over around the corner of the building. _How could I have thought she was up to anything bad?_

They approached a tree where Anni and Shuri were sitting, facing someone who Iruka guessed was Otan.

"See, Iruka-sensei? He won't play right!" Rose stepped ahead. Anni and Shuri moved aside and Iruka stopped. Otan was sitting on the ground in front of the tree looking extremely unhappy, a frown on his little, chubby face, and a baby bonnet tied firmly around his head and under his chin. It was pink with a frill along the outside. It looked ridiculous, and yet at the same time adorable.

Shuri stood up and said, "Yeah, Iruka-sensei, he won't listen to us!"

Iruka squatted down in front of Otan, who glared up at him with his dark Temari eyes. "Hey, Otan. Why won't you play what the girls want?"

Otan glared back down at the ground and folded his little arms. "I not a baby."

Rose sighed angrily, looking around her. She paused, staring up at the tree. Then she quietly pulled Shuri and Anni back a little, an evil glint in her unexplainable eyes.

Iruka tried to reason with the four year old. "No one said you were a baby, Otan, they just-."

"Yeah tey did. Tey said I was a baby."

Mackenzie appeared from around one of the bushes and, after meeting a pair of blue eyes up in the tree, stepped forward, saying, "There you are, Otan! I've been looking for you!" The five-year-old moved around Iruka and grabbed her brother by the hand. "Come on! I've got something to show you!"

She pulled him to his feet, then said, to Iruka, "Sorry, sensei. Excuse us!" Then she pulled Otan away, back around the corner to the rest of the playground.

Iruka straightened and turned, a little confused. Then he saw that the three little girls were gone. _Uh-oh._

A twig snapped from somewhere up in the tree. He looked up.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

……..

……..

……..

The bell signaling the end of recess rang, sending it's depressing tones all throughout the playground. All the ninja-in-training made their ways inside, some running, excited about learning, others dragging their feet, dreading another long afternoon of classes.

But several children were missing from the pack. These children, nine in total, were already assembled down at the main office, brought there by one jonin teacher. Almost immediately, the five youngest, four girls and one boy (who was still wearing a baby bonnet), were dismissed, the head ninja determining that they were only involved in the prank because of their older siblings.

Rose, Shuri, Anni, Otan, and Mackenzie all quickly left the room, suppressing giggles as they passed by Iruka. The head ninja, too, was trying not to laugh as he spoke to the four remaining boys. But he could not help throwing quick glances up at the jonin and then quickly looking aside, his face going redder each time.

Asuma, Tam, Iro, and Nemar were not even trying to disguise their amusement, occasionally bursting into fits of laughter, only to receive a glare from their teacher and a look of reproachment from the head ninja.

Iruka was standing stock still, his face stuck in a glower. Whether the glue and feathers on his face had anything to do with that, he was not sure. He was completely covered, from head to toe, with brightly colored feathers and sticky glue, both of which had been dropped onto him from the boys hiding in the tree. He realized now that Rose and the other four-year-olds had been the bait meant to lure Iruka under the tree so that the boys could do their mischievous deed. And then, as if the that weren't enough, while Iruka had been sputtering and choking on feathers and glue, Iro had managed to stick a rubber glove onto his head, completing his transformation from man to giant bird.

The head ninja gave the boys a week of detention and then dismissed them, still fighting back the urge to burst out into hysterical laughter. The boys left, Asuma, Nemar, and Iro sniggering while Tam simply laughed and laughed and laughed. Asuma had to drag him out by the arm, debating about whether to bring him to the nurse or not.

Iruka's eyebrow started to twitch.

"Well, Iruka," the head ninja cleared his throat, shuffling papers on his desk. "You are dismissed for the day. I will find a substitute for you." He coughed again, not meeting the jonin's eyes.

Iruka bowed slightly, then turned and walked awkwardly out of the room. As soon as the door shut behind the teacher, the head ninja burst out laughing, pounding his fist on the desk as tears of laughter trickled out of his eyes. Iruka twitched.

Iruka decided then and there that when he had signed up to be a teacher, he must have been justifiably insane. And if he wasn't then, he surely was now.

…………………………………………………………………………………..

Whoo, that was a long chapter. I'm SO sorry it took me so long to update. I don't even have any excuses. Just my own laziness. Sorry!

I hoped you all liked this chapter. I had already been thinking about doing a school chapter, and then someone requested one, so there ya go! And it was pretty long, too! At least, compared to other chapters.

FINALLY! Lee's family has arrived. I hope they were worth the wait. I will include them more in the future, because they're just so much fun to write! I also added Kiba and Temari's family because I just recently got into that couple, and Kiba was a part of the original troublemaking quartet. I forget which episode the part was in, but it showed those four being yelled at by Iruka for misbehaving and stuff. So that contributed to this chapter greatly.

Oh, one more thing about the Kiba's family! On wikipedia, it said that the Inuzuka clan names the people after parts of the dog and their dogs after colors, but I had already named the children when I read it, and so I didn't really want to change them. When I name a character, I feel like changing the name is like making a completely new person. I just don't like it. So they're staying that way. But I named the dog after a color, so that follows. Also, I wasn't sure what age the Inuzuka children get their dogs, so I'm making it eight.

I loved putting Hanabi in! I'm only now starting to appreciate her and I want to make her a bigger character in the future. If not in this story, then in Babes of Neji and Tenten. Oh, and the whole thing about throwing them into trees, I didn't mean to make it sound evil. It was just training. They're ninja, they've gotta be tough! But they didn't get too hurt.

I think I made a few things up about the academy and stuff, but that's okay. It's my story and it helped it move along. If it bothers anyone, I'm very sorry. Also, if anyone is confused about whose children are whose or what ages they are, I posted a chart to help out on my profile. It now includes Kiba and Lee's families!

I think that's about it. I'm going on vacation in a few days and I haven't decided whether I'm gonna write and update during it or not. So if I don't update for a while, then that means that I decided not to. Sorry about that!

Thanks for everyone who reviewed, and please continue to this time!


	11. Summer Roof Days

I don't own Naruto in this story either…sigh…

Chapter Ten: Summer Roof Days 

It was a hot day in summer. School had let out and all of the students were taking advantage of their freedom, getting in some serious playing, eating, and, in the case of the Nara twins, cloud watching.

It was a habit that they had taken up from their father, who liked nothing more then to lie under a tree and stare up at the fluffy, white clouds as they slowly made their way across the bright blue sky. Ever since Shikamaru became a father, a genin squad leader, and the head strategist for emergencies in Konoha, he had not had as much down time as he would have liked. Yuri and Asuma made up for it, though, during the endless summer hours that they spent on their roof.

Rose, after she was old enough to go onto the roof, had tried to get into their habit. But she was too much like her mother to _really_ enjoy it. The first day she joined her older siblings (when she was five and the twins were ten), she really did try her hardest. She stayed still on her back for about ten minutes, which, for someone like Rose, was pretty impressive. But eventually she got a horrible case of the squiggles and was moving and squirming like she had ants in her pants.

Yuri and Asuma tried to ignore her, tried with all their might to accommodate their little sister, but when Rose started to chatter away about every single subject her five year old brain could think of, they snapped.

"Rose," Yuri said through clenched teeth, mentally counting to calm her rising temper. "Could you try just a little harder not to, um let's see, _talk_!?"

"We've found that talking is somewhat," Asuma paused, searching for the right word. "_Unnecessary_ when you're cloud watching."

Rose stuck out her bottom lip and folded her arms, glaring at her older siblings. "But, I really wanna talk! And clouds is so _boring_."

Yuri let out an outraged sigh as Asuma slowly shook his head, disappointed. They both returned to their cloud watching positions and ignored their sister. Rose soon left the rooftop, choosing instead to have a tea party with several of her dolls and stuffed animals out in the backyard. And, after he arrived home from work, Shikamaru.

"Would you like eight cubes or nine?" Rose asked sweetly, putting several rocks into the plastic teacup she was serving to her jonin father. The man moved around in his little kid chair, trying (and failing) to find a more comfortable position.

"Uh…" Shikamaru said, watching as his daughter proceeded to add many more than eight _or_ nine pebbles into the cup. "Nine is fine." He shifted again, eyeing the roof longingly while Yuri and Asuma, peeking over the edge, sniggered uncontrollably.

Rose, noticing this, whapped Shikamaru on the knee with her spoon, shaking her head and saying, "No, daddy." Shikamaru quickly turned back to the table, his face turning red.

"Sorry, Rose." He sat obediently in his little chair, balancing his teacup on his knee while Rose offered tea to Mr. Floppy Ears.

…

…

…

On one such afternoon, during the summer of the twins' eleventh birthday, Yuri and Asuma lay on the roof, each sipping a glass of lemonade, lost in their own thoughts. Yuri was thinking about what their last year at the academy meant.

_In a little less then a year, I'll be a genin. I'll be on a squad, with a sensei, and I'll be doing missions and actually fighting! That's so cool! _She thought about who would be on her team, whether or not she would know their jonin teacher or not, and, most importantly, whether or not she and Asuma would be on the same team.

Asuma, on the other hand, was thinking about something else.

"Yuri," he said, sitting up and turning so that he was looking at his twin. "I was thinking."

The dark haired girl sat up, stretching and pushing the long, dark strands out of her face. "Yeah? What about?"

Asuma hesitated, a finger resting on his chin.

_He's got his thinking face on,_ Yuri thought as she waited._ Oh brother, can't he wait until I'm __not__ relaxing my but off to ask me really hard and confusing questions? _

Finally, his blue eyes met her dark ones. "Remember that thunder and lightning storm? When we were eight?"

Yuri closed her eyes, racking her memory. "Uh…."

Asuma gave a frustrated sigh. "When we were gonna change rooms?"

"…"

"And you were crying?"

Bingo.

Yuri leapt to her feet, eyes on fire. "I WAS NOT CRYING!"

"WATCH IT!"

In a flash, Asuma was on his feet, holding Yuri's wrist, as she stood, fist raised, with her heels mere centimeters from the edge of the roof. They stood like that for a moment, then Asuma pulled his sister back and they both sat down heavily, letting out a synchronized sigh.

"Wow!" Yuri gave a shaky laugh, putting her hand behind her head. "That was exciting!"

She received a death glare from her brother.

"Anyway," she continued quickly, "Yes, I remember the storm. What about it?"

Asuma glared at her for another second, then blinked and continued on. "Well, we were sitting together throughout the storm, remember, and then when it was over, I went back to my bed. And as we were falling asleep, we said something."

Yuri thought for a second. "Yeah, I asked you whether or not you were still gonna switch rooms, and you said 'no'."

Asuma nodded. "We actually spoke that verbally. But after that, when we were really falling asleep, we said something else."

Yuri gave him a confused look, then a light bulb went off. "Oh yeah! We did!"

Asuma nodded. "You said 'I'm glad you're not moving'," the boy started.

"And you said 'So am I'," Yuri finished for him, nodding. "But why is that important? All we said was-."

"But that's the thing," Asuma said hurriedly. "I don't think we _actually_ said anything. At least, not with our mouths. I was falling asleep with my face in the pillow and the blankets over my head. There's no way I would have heard you and could have given you a response."

Asuma sat up on his knees, looking excited. Yuri was gazing at him with a confused expression.

"How do you remember things like that?" Yuri did not remember what pajamas she had worn to bed last night, and yet her twin remembered the position he had been sleeping in a year and a half ago!

Asuma waved the question away. "Don't you get it? If we didn't actually speak to each other verbally, then how did we do it? How did I know what you thought, let alone answer it? And then how did you know my answer?"

Yuri's head was spinning and she looked incredulously at her brother. "Are you insinuating that we had some sort of 'twin moment'," she made quotation marks with her fingers, "Where we could speak inside each other's minds?"

Asuma winced, but recovered. "I wouldn't have phrased it that way, but, in a way, yes!"

The look he received from his twin obviously questioned his sanity.

"I'm not crazy!" Asuma scooted forward so that his face was a foot away from Yuri's. "And to prove it, we're gonna have a mind conversation right now."

He closed his eyes and frowned in concentration.

Yuri sat there for a minute, impatience growing inside her.

Asuma finally opened his eyes. "How come you're not answering?"

"Because I couldn't hear your question!"

"That's weird." Asuma tapped his chin, thinking. "Let's try again. This time you think."

He closed his blue eyes, a look of intense concentration on his face.

Yuri rolled her eyes and thought randomly. _Wow, I used to think very highly of his brain skills, but now…_Her stomach rumbled. _I wonder what's for dinner. Maybe we'll go out to eat. To…I don't know. I hope Sari remembers to call me back. If she doesn't, then-._

"Why isn't this working?!" Asuma burst out, sitting back on his heels, anger rising.

"Gee, I don't know." Yuri put on a fake look of concentration. "Maybe because it _never happened_!"

A look of hurt flashed into her brother's stunning eyes, but Yuri ignored it.

"I think you're just imagining things, Asuma." Yuri turned around and lay back on the tiles, folding her arms behind her head. "If I were you, I would just forget about it."

Asuma glared at the girl who had turned away from him, anger beating out the hurt in his eyes. He lay back down and then muttered, "I didn't imagine it and I _won't_ forget about it."

If Yuri heard this last comment, she chose to ignore it. Asuma stared up at the clouds, a fierce determination filling every inch his slight body and cavernous mind. _I didn't imagine anything, and I'm going to prove it._

…………………………………………..

Oh my gosh, so sorry for the delay! As I said before, I was on vacation, and then it took me a while to get back into the writing mood. Also, I've become completely hooked on the Prince of Tennis anime and have been spending a LOT of time watching that on youtube. Anyway.

I got kind of sad when I wrote this chapter because I realized that Yuri and Asuma were getting older! In the second part of this chapter they're almost eleven! I can't believe that! I panicked and was, like, are there any more things I want to do with them while they're little, or is it okay to go on to their genin teams? I actually got choked up. And Rose is getting older and she's no longer a little baby. She actually knows how to speak now! (and how to dominate Shika) And then I realized that all the other children were getting older too and I remembered chapter four, when I really introduced most of the other children, and I was like, I don't want them to grow up!

Sorry about that little emotional, parent-like moment. I'm just kind of sad. Anyway.

Short chapter, I know, but the next one will hopefully be longer and arrive faster. Thanks to all the reviewers and please continue to review!


	12. A Little More of Rose

I don't own Naruto…

Chapter 12: A Little More of Rose

Rose Nara, cute, adorable, blonde, five-year-old Rose Nara, baby of the Nara family and supposedly Ino's favorite (but only if you ask Shika and Yuri), rolled over onto her back. She opened her startlingly, yet still unexplainable, green eyes and gave a huge yawn. She sat up, rubbing her face with one hand and tousling her short blond hair with the other. Pushing off her pink comforter, the little girl swung her legs out of bed and stumbled over to the window.

"Good morning, Mr. Sun!" Rose pushed open the panes of glass and let the morning sunshine pour into her room. She beamed up at the sky, drinking in the light that lit up her face and sparkled in her hair. "What a beautiful day!"

After a few minutes of watching the hustle and bustle in the street below, she turned away and hurried out into the hallway. Turning right, she headed towards the stairs and walked right past her siblings' room, thinking, _I wonder what Mama made for breakfast? What are we doing today? I wonder if I can go over to Shuri's house, I-_. But then she froze.

The girl stood in front of the closed door, behind which her two siblings slept. Her delicate face took on a thoughtful look as she tapped her foot, thinking.

_Hmm…should I, or shouldn't I? _Rose quickly weighed the pros and the cons, finally deciding that the pros beat out the cons. By a lot….kind of. At least, "Should I" sounded a lot more fun than "Shouldn't I".

An evil smirk pasted itself onto Rose's face as an equally evil glint appeared in her suddenly slitted eyes.

_Oh boy! This is gonna be fun!_

…

…

…

_Yuri sat in her desk at the academy, completely ignoring the useless droning going on around her as she doodled on a piece of paper. In her cartoon, a very badly drawn Hanabi Hyuga was standing in front of an equally bad blackboard, scribbling a bunch of nonsense while wearing a very angry and stupid expression. _

_(Hanabi-sensei,) Yuri thought, (Is so…)_

_All of a sudden, a clap of thunder boomed. All of the other students and Hanabi disappeared in puffs of smoke. Yuri froze, eyes wide, as a huge stick of lightning flashed, followed by more thunder. Then ropes popped out of the chair and coiled themselves around her arms, securing Yuri to her seat. _

_A huge door appeared out of nowhere and a loud stomping could be heard. Almost like footsteps. Giant footsteps. _

_Yuri's heart pounded in her chest and sweat appeared on her forehead. Her dark eyes were glued to the door; her mind telling her that whatever came through it would be nothing good. _

_Finally the door burst open, just as the loudest clap of thunder yet crashed and several streaks of lightning flashed. Yuri's eyes saw the figure enter the room and she screamed. _

_"H-hanabi-sensei!" _

_A giant version of Yuri's doodle, complete with stick hands and feet and black squiggles for hair, stomped towards the cowering girl, her deep, rumbling voice blocking out the thunder. _

"_Gramasdkfaaslkdfjnsgalsdkggnasasldkfji!" the giant teacher moaned, approaching ever closer to the desks. "Uraoidsdansdflaksdfjisdongasldkfiosdng!" _

"_What are you saying!?" Yuri yelled, struggling wildly in her chair. _

"_HRASDLKFASJDOIFASDNGAOSDIFN!" _

_(Oh yeah) Yuri remembered. (I didn't teach my doodle to speak.)_

"_I'm sorry, Hanabi-sensei! I-!" _

_The doodle whipped out a tree from nowhere and raised it above her head, ready to swing. _

"_Nooooo!!!!!" _

"Noooooo!!!!"

**Thud**.

Yuri hit the ground with a thud, landing face first on the wood floor in her bedroom. As the rest of her body followed suit, she let out a low, "Ow…."

_Stupid Hanabi-sensei, giving me nightmares. _The gangly eleven-year-old struggled to her feet and stood. She looked around the room through sleep-encrusted eyes, just barely taking in her tangled bed sheets and her still-sleeping twin. Letting out a huge yawn, Yuri's stomach rumbled loudly.

All other thoughts instantly left Yuri's mind as all of her brain cells now concentrated on one thing.

_Breakfast…_

Yuri stumbled over to the door in an almost zombie-like way, pushed it open, and almost walked into Rose. Stopping short, Yuri slowly looked down.

_Hmm…_ Yuri's eyes saw her little sister standing in front of her, saw the filled watering can in the girl's hands, the length of rope around one shoulder, and the pulley and screws in the baggy, but her food-deprived brain couldn't think of a reason why Rose would have those things with her in front of her and Asuma's bedroom.

"What are you doing?" The older girl asked slowly, her voice coming out as a deep, frog-like croak.

Rose looked up at Yuri with the most innocent eyes Yuri had ever seen. "Nothin'," she said, voice like sugar, flashing a small smile. Yuri blinked, then squinted. For a second, she thought she saw a halo above the girl's blond head. "I'm not doin' anything, Sissy."

Yuri looked at her for another second, eyebrow twitching with suspicion, but then her stomach gave another loud rumble.

_Breakfast…!_

"Whatever." Yuri stumbled past her sister and clumped down stairs, heading for the kitchen.

As soon as her zombie sister had walked away, Rose's halo disappeared, to be replaced by small devil horns. Sporting her most mischievous smirk, the small girl walked into the dark bedroom, heading right for the sleeping form of her dearest older brother.

…

…

…

Five minutes later, Rose walked into the kitchen, skipping and smiling. "Morning, Mama!"

Ino looked up from her coffee and said, "Morning, sweetie."

As Ino returned to the Sunday newspaper, _The Shinobi Times_, Rose clambered into the seat across from the zombie.

"Yuri, can you pass the milk?"

The dark haired girl looked up from her own bowl of cereal to stare at her sister. Others would have recoiled at the sight of Yuri's zombie face in the morning, but Rose had grown immune to it.

Beaming, Rose added, "Please?"

"Hmph…." Yuri pushed the milk jug over with a glower before returning to her own food.

The three Nara women sat there, eating their breakfast, Rose chattering away to Ino about everything while Yuri slowly rejoined the human world. When only the dregs of milk remained at the bottom of her bowl, Yuri was her normal self.

"So, Mom," she said, propping her head on her elbows and smiling at Ino. "Can I pretty please go over to Sari's house today? Please?"

Ino folded up her paper and stared at her older daughter, blue eyes suspicious. _She's never this polite. There must be something else she wants. But what is it…_

"Any particular reason, dear?"

"Oh, not really. We're just gonna hang out. Watch some TV, do a bit of training."

_Go and see where Iro is…_

Yuri gave a bright smile, showing all of her teeth.

Ino and Rose exchanged a look. _I don't buy it._

"I guess so. You're gonna miss-."

"Thanks, Mom!" Yuri jumped to her feet and dashed out of the kitchen, saying over her shoulder, "I'll get dressed and then go right over!"

As Rose heard her sister's feet clomping up the stairs, she smirked into her cereal bowl, and waited.

…

…

…

Humming to herself, Yuri mounted the last step and took the last few steps to her and Asuma's room. _ Oh boy, I can't wait! I wonder if Iro's out training today? Maybe we could join him, and maybe he could give us some point-._ She twisted the doorknob and pushed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

…

…

…

Ino set down her paper and stood up to refill her coffee mug. Rose sat completely still, listening. Finally, it happened.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!"

…

…

…

One of the two pairs of blue eyes in the Nara house, a few seconds ago shut tightly in deep slumber, slid into one of the deathliest death glares in all of Konoha.

"Rose…."

…

…

…

"What was that?" Ino said, turning sharply and looking in the direction of the twins' room. _It sounded like Asuma._

Rose perked her head up, eyes wide. "I don't know! I wonder what it could be?"

A few seconds later, they heard a slow stomp of footsteps coming down the stairs. They approached the kitchen, then stopped. Rose and Ino turned.

Asuma stood in the doorway, one hand on the frame, the other clenched at his side. His blonde hair was plastered to his head and his t-shirt and shorts were drenched with water. His eyes were shadowed, but if they could be seen, they would have been a terrifying sight to behold.

No one said anything. The only noise was the slow dripping of water droplets falling from the eleven-year-old's clothes and hair as he stood. A small puddle formed at his feet. Finally,

"Asuma, sweetie, what happened?" Ino leaned back on the counter, looking confused. "Why are you all wet?"

The boy did not answer right away. Then he said slowly, through gritted teeth, "Why don't you ask _Rose_?"

Ino cocked an eyebrow as the child in question started to giggle, putting two hands to her mouth.

"What are you talking about, silly?" The little girl squealed. "How should I know how come you're all wet. Unless," her giggles increased and her eyes crinkled in mirth. "Unless you're a-." She choked, now giggling uncontrollably. "Unless you _wet the bed!_"

Rose's ability to speak left her as she collapsed in a fit of giggles.

Asuma twitched.

"Excuse me?"

Rose pointed at her brother with one hand, clutching her stomach with the other. "Asuma wet the bed! Asuma wet the bed! Asuma wet the be-ed!"

Asuma twitched again.

Ino put a hand over her mouth, trying to suppress her own laughter. When her son's death gaze moved onto her, though, Ino stopped. Taking a step closer, Ino asked, in her best mother voice, "Did you wet the bed, Asuma? Do you want me to-."

"No, Mom," he said shortly, teeth still clenched. "No, it's fine. I'll just go mop up the _water_ myself."

He turned and walked stiffly away, back up the stairs.

…

…

Yuri stood in the middle of her room, surveying the layout before her with a slightly bemused, and a slightly impressed, expression. One end of the rope Yuri had seen Rose carrying in was tied to the inside of the doorknob, screwed into the currently open door. It ran up to the ceiling where it went through the pulley the five-year-old had somehow managed to fixate above Asuma's bed. It continued on to the headboard of the bed, where it was looped around the board and then fastened to the handle of the watering can. The spout of the can was currently facing down, the last bits of water dripping onto Asuma's pillow. Yuri imagined that, when the door was closed, the can would have been upright, waiting for some unfortunate soul to open the door and release it, letting it pour its contents all over the head of the victim. The catalyst happened to be Yuri, while Asuma had been the victim.

_How she assembled this while he was sleeping, I have no idea. Especially the pulley. How did she get up to the ceiling in the first place?_

Hearing footsteps behind her, Yuri turned and saw her brother. They looked at each other for a moment, then looked at the arrangement before them. Finally, Yuri said, "I don't know whether to be really impressed, or really scared."

Asuma grunted.

"I say we lock the door from now on."

"I agree."

……………………………………….

Well, I'm back from vacation (again) and I'm really late with my update (again)!

This chapter had some fun Rose action. I felt that that adorable little blond girl was getting jipped, so this chapter was for her. I hope you all enjoyed it!

As always, thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers and please continue! I love you all!

P.S. I realize now that Shika didn't make it into this chapter, which is sad, but I have news for you all. I'm working on a one-shot right now for this story and it focuses on the** Father-Daughter Day** mentioned in chapter eight, part one! I'm working really hard on it and I want to post it before I go back to school so I'll try really hard to write fast! I also want to update my other stories too, and I only have about a week left, but I'll try!


	13. Goodnight, Naras!

I don't own Naruto…again…

Chapter 12: Goodnight, Naras…

Seated at the kitchen table, Ino strummed her fingers impatiently, her nails making a _click-click-click_ on its wooden surface. She let out a small sigh and blew a piece of her blond hair from her face. Her usually sparkling blue eyes were staring dejectedly at the clock above the stove, which now read 9:37.

"Shika…" the woman groaned, rubbing her face with both hands. She glanced again at the dinner spread out on the table, at the two candles lit almost twenty minutes ago, at the empty chair across from her. After twelve years of being married to the man, Ino was used to Shika coming home late from Chunin and Jonin meetings on Friday nights. It had happened almost every Friday since their wedding; but even though she was used to it, she would never like it.

The mother of three had done everything else she usually did on Fridays: take out the trash, make sure all the kids were bathed, go get the take-out… The routine was that Yuri, Rose, and Asuma would vote on the take-out of the week and then eat it in front of the TV while watching a movie. Tonight, the three had voted for Ichiraku's Ramen, and _Ninja Academy Musical_ (Asuma didn't want either, but Rose and Yuri out-voted him). Now the three were sprawled across the couch and lost in the world of the singing and dancing shinobi and kunoichi. The girls were entranced, but Asuma was glaring at the television with a fierce intensity.

_Shika, hurry up and get home. I'm tired of waiting, plus I'm so hungry I'm about to eat my own arm off!_

Ino sat there for another minute, and just as she thought, _Hell with Shikamaru, I'm eating!_ The front door opened and in walked the lanky shadow ninja himself.

_Stupid ninja council and their stupid seminars_. Shika kicked off his shoes, muttering to himself, and slouched into the kitchen, where he was bowled over by something blond and beautiful.

"Shika! Welcome home!" Ino jumped to her feet and gave her husband a kiss, which seemed to lighten his mood just a bit. Ino broke the kiss and glared up at her husband. "You sure took your time coming home," she scolded, frowning up at him. But then she smiled, kissed him again, and sat down, immediately starting on her food.

Shikamaru collapsed in the chair across from her and stared at is plate, looking exhausted. "Believe me," he said, looking up at his wife through his dark eyes, "I would have been here an hour ago if it hadn't been for that stupid seminar. Do you know what the topic was this time?"

Ino raised one fine eyebrow, her mouth filled to bursting with noodles. "Mm?

"Kunai safety. The 'safe and secure way to carry and use a kunai without endangering the well-being of yourself and those around you'. That was the motto." He gave a sigh and served himself a heaping pile of noodles. "The whole thing was so troublesome…"

Ino snorted with laughter, which resulted in two different kinds of choking: one from lack of air, one from laughing with a mouth full of food. Shikamaru stared at his wife with a mixture of annoyance and incredulence, eyebrow twitching slightly.

"Troublesome woman…"

…

…

Asuma gave a huge sigh and turned, burying his face into the couch cushions. This was his least favorite part of the movie, but it wasn't just because of the footage itself. It was more the reaction from his sisters that made him despise it. _Here we go_, he thought sourly.

On the TV screen, the main boy and girl emerged from the crowd of dancing ninja, they said something fluffy and sappy, then leaned in and, in a shower of confetti, kissed the most cinematically cliché kiss ever filmed.

"Awwww!" Yuri clutched her pillow closer to her chest, eyes squeezed shut and cheeks flushed. Rose squealed with happiness and she and Yuri hugged each other, both girls enraptured with the perfection of it all. "They are _so_ cute together!" Yuri sighed, rubbing her cheek against her sister's soft blond hair.

"I know!" Rose squeaked in response, giggling, her face squished against Yuri's shoulder.

As the credits music came on, Asuma sat up, his hair tousled, the imprint of the couch cushion on his cheek. "Thank god that's over." He reached over his empty ramen bowl and grabbed the remote. "Now _I'm_ picking what we watch."

Yuri, still elated from the perfect kiss scene she had witnessed, lay back casually on the cough, saying, "Sure, sure. Whatever you say." Rose sprawled herself over Yuri's legs, feet resting in her brother's lap.

As he flipped through the channels, Asuma's blue eyes flicked up to glance at the clock.

10:04

_If we're really quiet, then mom and dad won't notice the time and we can watch another show. _

As Rose watched the many channels flash by on the TV, her stomach gave a rumble. _Hmm…I want so popcorn!_

"Mom," she yelled into the kitchen, "Can we have some popcorn?!"

"Rose, no! Be quiet, or she'll come in here and make us-."

No sooner had Asuma said this than Ino entered the room, hands on hips, her expression firm. "TV off, kids, time for bed."

"But Mom-."

"Mommy!"

Ino cut off her older children with a curt, "I said time for bed."

"But what about the popcorn?" Came an innocent voice.

"No popcorn now, Rose. You can have some tomorrow."

"B-but," Rose's lower lip began to tremble and her eyes got very big. She looked up at her mother, water already filling her green eyes. Asuma and Yuri crossed their fingers hopefully as they watched their mother's fierce face begin to melt.

"Well," Ino said slowly, staring at her youngest child. "I suppose-."

"Don't fall for it, Ino! Remember the last time!" Shika jumped in front of his wife and grabbed her shoulders, jerking her blue gaze from that of her child. "Remember the pony!"

With a start, Ino came back to reality. Shaking her head to clear it, she gave her husband a grateful look. "Thank you, honey." Ino turned to Rose, saying, "I'm not falling for that again, young lady. I'm on to your tricks."

Rose's puppy dog face did not change. She looked up at both parents and said sweetly, "Falling for what? You could never fall for a trick, mama, you're the best kunoichi in the whole wide world!"

Shika turned to the six year old and said, "Nice try, Rose, but it's not going to work. Not anymore. So there." To prove his point, Shika stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at his youngest daughter.

Rose's innocent expression vanished as she rasberried right back before slouching back against the couch, her pretty face darkened in a pout.

Yuri and Asuma sighed in unison. _Darn. _

Both parents turned to the twins and Ino said, blue eyes glinting dangerously, "Would either of you like to add to the conversation?"

"No thanks!"

"Umm…no."

"Then get going!" At Ino's sharp command, the twins jumped to their feet and fled from the room.

As the mother listened to her children clatter up the stairs, Shika turned to the one child still remaining, the one slouched over on the couch, arms folded over her chest as she glared at the floor.

She reminded him of Ino when she was younger, that time he had accidentally broken her favorite hairclip. Six-year-old Ino had exploded at six-year-old Shikamaru, swearing to hate him for all eternity and to make his life a living hell, and then she had gone and sulked for an hour. Shikamaru, being the sweet and innocent lad he was, had given her a wilted buttercup as recompense. After laughing at the pathetic state of the blossom, Ino had forgiven him, but only after he had sworn on the Third Hokage that he would never touch her hair decorations ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, again. Ever.

The lanky shadow ninja figured that it would not require a flower to make Rose happy again. Just a little father magic.

With a sigh, Shika walked over to his daughter and crouched down in front of her. Rose glanced up at her dad, then quickly returned her gaze to the carpet, brows knitting even closer together. They sat there for five minutes, neither one moving, Shika staring at her, Rose staring at the floor. After the first minute, Ino walked away, rolling her eyes at the foolishness of her husband, leaving the two alone.

The living room was silent. The sounds of Yuri and Asuma getting ready for bed and fighting each other for the bathroom drifted down the stairs, as did Ino's shout to shut up and go to bed. A few noises from the streets outside drifted inside, but other than that, nothing.

Finally, Shika spoke. "Bed now, popcorn tomorrow. Okay?" He held out a hand.

Rose squirmed for a moment, biting her lip, then straightened and, looking at her father as though he were a business partner, shook his calloused and toughened hand with her own little one. "Deal. But I get the biggest bowl."

"Fine."

…

…

…

Shika tiptoed out of Rose's bedroom and closed the door behind him with a small _click!_. Leaning against the smooth wood, Shika let out a long sigh. All the kids were asleep. Finally. _At last, a little peace and quiet._ Then a voice purred his name from down the hall.

"Shika...Shika!" With a smirk on his face, the jonin walked quickly and quietly down the hallway and into his bedroom.

On the bed sat Ino, wearing a pretty nightgown that went to a little above her knees with spaghetti straps that lay across her tanned shoulders. She smiled up at him, a mischievous glint in her large blue eyes, and said, "Kids asleep, sweetie?" Her voice held the same fakely innocent note that Rose was so fond of.

A shiver went up Shika's spine. He smirked at Ino and shrugged off his chunin vest. But the couple's lips had barely touched when a call echoed through the house.

"Daddy! I'm thirsty! Can you bring me a glass of water?!"

_Rose…_ Both pairs of eyes, closed for impact, snapped open. Shika leaned back and, speaking slowly to keep his voice patient, called back, "Go to sleep, Rose!"

When she didn't respond, Shika sighed with relief. Hands grabbed the front of his ninja shirt and pulled him down on the bed, where his lips were soon engaged passionately with Ino's.

"Mama, will _you_ get me a drink?!"

Ino growled and broke off the kiss, yelling, "No, Rose. If you want a drink so badly, then go get one!"

"Pllleeeaaassse?"

"I said no!"

Silence.

Ino and Shika did not even have time to begin their kiss again before,

"Yuri-."

"DON'T ASK ME ROSE I'M SLEEPING!"

"…As-."

"No."

"…"

After the longest silence yet, Ino and Shika dared to sigh again. As their lips moved back towards each other, though, it happened again.

"Mamma, pl-."

"Rose, if you ask me again, I'm going to come in there and spank you!"

Ino never threatened to spank unless she was very, very, very mad. Or annoyed. Or both. It rarely happened, but all three children had learned to be wary of it.

Certain that the child would not ask again, Ino turned her attention back to her husband. She smiled down at him, and he smiled up at her, and as they moved closer together their eyes fluttered closed.

_Finally!_

"Mom, when you come in here to spank me, can you bring a cup of water?!"

The house shook as four different voices roared, "ROSE, GO TO SLEEP!"

……………………………………………

I'm so sorry it has taken me a month and a day to update, but at least it wasn't longer! This wasn't the best chapter. I kind of reused some ideas from previous chapters. Also, I got the idea of the spank and the drink of water from a story my priest told us. So that's not mine.

On another note, the oneshot is up! It's called A Father-Daughter Ninja Extravaganza! I invite you all to go read it and tell me what you think.

Thanks for everyone who reviewed the last chapter, even if it was just to tell me to update, even though I don't really need to be told. I will update whether people ask me to or not, don't worry.


	14. A Thanksgiving Special

I don't own Naruto….

Chapter Fourteen: A Thanksgiving Special

"Okay, everyone, let's sit down!" Ino heaved the huge, cooked turkey out of the oven, sweat forming on her forehead. _Finally, it's done!_

"Stupid turkey, why are you so big?!" Despite the fact that Ino was still in pretty good shape for a stay-at-home ninja, her arms shook as she brought the brown, wonderful smelling bird towards the table. _Oh my GOSH!_

"Troublesome woman, can't even hold a stupid bird." Shikamaru, wearing a nice shirt and tie, lounged against the doorway, looking incredulously at his wife. Ino opened her mouth to snap a reply, but almost dropped the bird in return. Gasping, she regained her grip and continued to heave the bird towards the table. Sighing, Shika stepped forward. "Give it here."

He held out his arms and Ino, managing a small smirk, gratefully handed it over.

"Holy-!" The shadow ninja nearly let the bird tumble to the floor, platter, stuffing, and all. He saved himself and, arms shaking, raised it back up to chest level. He inched slowly towards the kitchen table and then slammed it down, gasping.

Ino melted into hysterical laughter, sagging back against the counter. Shika glared at his wife, incredulous. "How much stuffing did you put in this turkey? It weighs more than Asuma!"

Wiping at her very blue eyes, Ino straightened and, ignoring her husband's question, said, "Oh, Shika. Bring that to the table, would you, sweetie?"

And before Shika could protest, Ino walked out into the living room, calling once again, "Dinner is ready, everyone, and I won't tell you all again!"

…

…

…

Since the Nara house did not contain a dining room, they held dinner in the living room. The house was already somewhat crammed with just its regular five inhabitants, but tonight, it held four others: Shika's parents, Yoshino and Shikaku, and Ino's parents, Inoichi and Koujai. While Ino, Yoshino, and Koujai cooked up a storm, Shikamaru, Yuri, Asuma, and Rose were treated to a million and one stories from "those good old days". Inoichi and Shikaku spent a good half of the afternoon telling the kids about their many adventures as genin and how they so narrowly escaped death time after time.

Asuma, who had perfected the skill of sleeping with his eyes open, was out cold almost immediately, head propped up on the coffee table, face directed at his grandfathers. Rose and Yuri, who were not yet accomplished in this skill, were forced to sit on the couch, smiling awkwardly, nodding when appropriate, and making comments like, "Wow, Grandpa," and "That's amazing!" whenever there was a pause.

Needless to say, the children were quite happy when their mother called for dinner.

"Come on, you." Yuri, after her grandpas had stood and moved away, grabbed her twin under the armpits and heaved him to his feet. He blinked and looked around confusedly. Yuri whapped him on the back of the head and he woke up a bit more. Rose yawned widely and all three of them moved towards the table.

Rose, Yuri, Yoshino, and Koujai sat on one side of the table, while Inoichi, Asuma, and Shikaku sat on the other. Ino blew into the room from the kitchen, smiling and happy, as Shika staggered in behind, the enormous turkey platter in his arms. Both Shikamaru's father and father-in-law roared with laughter at the sight of him. Shikamaru's face burned red, but he could not spare a breath to offer a retort.

Once the bird was displayed nicely in the middle of the table, surrounded by the rest of the food, Naras, and Yamanakas, everyone settled down. Shikamaru and Ino took their seats at the head and foot of the table and everyone looked expectantly at one person with a ponytail.

"Shikamaru, would you like to say a few words?"

"Huh?" The man started, having already been daydreaming, looking around at everyone looking at him. "What?"

"I said," Yoshino stared at him pointedly. "Would you like to start the meal off by saying anything?"

Shikamaru sat there awkwardly for a moment, thinking wildly of something to say, before he was rescued by his quiet mother-in-law, Koujai. The older woman, her face lightly wrinkled and her blue eyes crinkled with a constant expression of contentment, bent her head and held on to Yuri's and Rose's hands. Everyone else, after a moment, followed suit as Koujai began to speak.

"As we gather around this table, covered in good food made by these hard-working mothers, surrounded by family, we think about all those things that we are thankful for. And not just the big things, but those things that we may not notice every day. We are thankful that our village is in a time of peace, and that our Lady Hokage keeps a strong and loving hand over all of us; that we are here, in this warm, safe house, in the company of those we love. That all of us are here, not away on a mission or protecting the borders. And while we enjoy these wonderful things, we think of those who don't have food or shelter, and those ninja who could not be with their families today: that they return home safely and are embraced with loving arms. And not only those ninja of the leaf village, but of all the villages, enemies and allies."

She paused for a second, and everyone thought she was done. Inoichi and Shikaku both reached for a food dish, grinning excitedly, but when Koujai continued, they froze and reconnected the circle, looking disappoitned.

"On a more personal note, we are very thankful that the flower shop has been doing well, and that Lady Hokage allowed for Shikaku and Inoichi to retire from active duty. May they enjoy their retirement to the fullest of their abilities. We are thankful that we have such beautiful and talented grandchildren, and on that note, we are also thankful that Ino and Shikamaru realized their feelings for each other and brought our two families together."

Yoshino took up the talking, saying, in a voice that was, as always, a little naggy, "To be more exact, we are thankful that Shikamaru got off his lazy bottom and proposed to Ino."

"Mother…" Shikamaru groaned, opening his eyes and looking at the grey haired woman to his right, cheeks going red. He received a swift kick to the shin from both his youngest daughter and his father. _Ow!_

"If he had not," Yoshino continued, a slightly satisfied note in her voice, "Then we would not be sitting here right now, and three of our number would not be around at all."

Ino cracked an eye open ever so slightly and saw her three children squirm with recognition. Smiling, she closed her eye again.

"We are also thankful that Ino was such an ambitious girl who did not give up on Shikamaru, as many girls may have, and that she continues to be able to deal with his laziness and lack of knowledge about women." Yoshino finished and Inoichi took up the reins. Shikamaru was beginning to sink lower and lower in his chair. Ino blushed with a combination of embarrassment and pride and Asuma, Yuri, and Rose were having to try very hard not to giggle.

In his deep, gruff voice, Inoichi said quickly, "And we are also thankful for everything else we should be grateful for that we haven't mentioned. Okay. Everyone feel grateful? Good, let's eat!"

As the graying blond man began hacking at the turkey and the other dishes were passed around, silent feelings of thankfulness were expressed.

_That Mommy and Daddy still love each other_, Rose thought as she watched Ino and Shikamaru interact from across the table. The love was evident in both faces as they passed along the sweet potatoes and bowl of stuffing, from their eyes to their posture. _And that we don't have school tomorrow…_she added as an afterthought.

_That I'm not an only child_, thought Yuri as, when Inoichi and Shikaku began telling their old battle stories again, she and Asuma exchanged looks. She bit her lip to keep back the laughter that fought to bubble out and her twin took a large bite of salad, trying to distract himself. _And that I have a twin like Asuma and not some jerky, stupid boy instead._

Asuma tried to think of individual things to be thankful for, but too many came to mind. He was simply too thankful. _This is so…weird. I hate being so mushy-gushy and sentimental. _

Ino felt the same way as Asuma. There was too much in her life that she was thankful for to be able to list them all. Instead, she simply let herself melt into the warm and relaxed atmosphere of the family, listening to her father and father-in-law reminisce, watching her mother and Yoshino completely ignoring their husbands and talking to each other about everything else; seeing as her children tried to seem interested by their grandfathers but failed and entertained each other instead. And, lastly, simply staring at her husband across the table. This was their eleventh thanksgiving together as a married couple. Both were thirty-two in age, had been married almost twelve years, and had been parents for eleven. They had been in love with each other for many more. And yet, they still felt like they were newlyweds. Shikamaru caught Ino looking at him. He raised his glass in a silent toast, cocking one eyebrow and smirking at the same time. Ino smiled and toasted in return.

It was a wonderful feeling, being surrounded by family in a life so blessed, and everyone at the table wished it would go on and on. As dinner played its course and everyone ate until they could not move, Yuri relished in the warm bask of the room. Watching her family, her stomach feeling as though it was about to explode, Yuri thought she was the happiest person around. Then, randomly, a thought popped into her head.

_By next Thanksgiving, Asuma and I will be genin. We'll have been genin for over four months!_ But before she could develop this realization further, Ino rose and began to clear the plates for desert. Yuri was distracted completely and all thoughts of being a genin left her mind, for the time being. But the idea had set in: their genin exam was drawing closer and closer, and the time seemed to be flying by.

………………………….

Well, I had already started on the next chapter, but then today I got the inspiration to write this chapter instead. So I knocked this out and got both a somewhat acceptable chapter and a long-needed update out of one thing. Hooray!

I won't say much here, just that I'm sorry it took so long to update and that I hope you all liked this chapter more than the last one. I've decided I don't like the last chapter that much, so please disregard it. It's fun and all (sort of) but I didn't feel it was up to par with the rest of them. But to each his own opinion.

Thanks to all the reviewers for the last chapter, I appreciate that little action so much.

So have a happy Thanksgiving to all and I hope that everyone had a relaxing and thankful day!


	15. A Fallen Hero and A Shining Example

Chapter Fifteen: A Fallen Leader and a Shining Example

**Just a small warning, there is something of a spoiler contained in this chapter. I myself stumbled upon this fact by accident and even though I am now somewhat familiar with it, anyone who does not understand the basis for my Asuma's name in this story should read ahead at their own risk. So yeah.**

* * *

As the time for Yuri and Asuma to take their graduation exam approached, Ino and Shikamaru began to talk, and to plan. There was a small trip that they had wanted to make for a long time, but had not yet managed to actually do. Now, the couple decided, they were running out of time. They had first decided to make this trip long ago, when Yuri and Asuma first started the academy. And now, seeing as they were going to graduate soon, it was now or never.

* * *

Shikamaru pushed open the gate to a small cemetery located in a quiet corner of Konoha. He looked around, having not been to the cemetery since his last big mission, almost a year ago. _So, sensei. Ready to meet the kids?_

Ino, Asuma, Yuri, and Rose, all dressed in black, followed him as he trudged up the slope, his dark eyes focused on one grave in particular.

"Yuri," Rose whispered to her sister as walked, "Why are we in a graveyard? Aren't there ghosts here?"

Yuri snorted. "No, Rose, there aren't any ghosts here. It's not nighttime," she said with all seriousness. "Ghosts only come out at _night_."

"Oh…okay."

Their brother looked over at Yuri, as though expecting her to say, _Just kidding! Ghosts aren't real, you silly goose!_

But Yuri seemed very serious. He stared incredulously at her. "You're kidding, right?"

The eleven-year-old shook her head, eyes wide. "No…why would I be? Ghosts are a serious topic."

_Good god…_Shaking his head sadly, the blond turned from one sister to the other. "I think we're here," he said quietly to Rose, "To see someone who was special to them." He gestured to their parents, who had finally come to a stop.

Rose and Yuri's eyes went wide.

"Here we are, kids." Ino said to them, her face looking soft and her eyes shining. Asuma, Yuri, and Rose approached their parents, looking a little apprehensive. Ino hugged Yuri to her while Rose clung onto Shikamaru's leg. Asuma stood between the two groups, arms folded tightly across his chest.

Before them was a grave. It was small, simple, just like any other stone in the cemetery. But its simplicity seemed to fit the ninja buried beneath it. The grass around it was trimmed neatly and several bouquets of flowers lay at the foot. A bowl with chopsticks and a packet of cigarettes was also there, telling Shika and Ino that Chouji had already been to the site to talk with Nemar. A small candle flickered in the lower corner. Engraved on the worn stone were the words:

_Asuma Sarutobi_

_Devoted Ninja, Leader, _

_Son, Uncle, Friend, _

_And Lover_

Carved roughly in the lower right-hand corner, by someone who was half-blinded by tears and pregnant with her first and only child, was the word _Father_.

"He was our squad leader, back when we were genin," Ino said softly with a small smile on her face. _That seems like such a long time ago…_

She squeezed Yuri slightly, who was staring at the grave with wide eyes. "He was laidback, he bribed us, and he smoked like a chimney, but he was the best. At least, the best for our team."

"For some reason, we always thought our missions would turn out alright, just because he was with us." Shikamaru shoved one hand deep into his pocket, staring at the stone with a grim expression. "Of course, they didn't _all_ turn out alright." In his other, trembling hand, he clutched an aged cigarette box.

"He died while on a mission, when we were fifteen." Ino's voice began to wobble and her eyes glistened. "Chouji and I weren't actually on that mission, but we ended up there anyway. He died right there, in front of all three of us."

Ino's mind flashed back to one of the worst days in her life. She, Shikamaru, and Chouji, gathered around the beaten body of their sensei, her hands covered in his blood as she tried to save him. After realizing it was hopeless, Asuma used his dying words to tell each member of Team Ten how special they were, how unique each one was. When his last breath left his body, the smoke from his last cigarette drifting up into their eyes, they each had cried the most painful kind of tears. The box clutched in Shikamaru's hand was the one from which Asuma's last cigarette had come.

"We named you after him, Asuma, if you hadn't already guessed."

The young, blond Asuma glanced up at his father, then back at the grave, blue eyes wide. He muttered a quiet, "Oh…" Feeling a hand reach for his own, he took it, welcoming his twin's comfort.

They stood there for a few moments, a chilly December breeze blowing against their black clothing; Yuri and Ino's long hair fluttered in the wind, mixing with a few last minute leaves just falling off the trees. Finally, Shikamaru spoke.

_I hate all this sentimental stuff. It's so troublesome… _

Turning to look at his oldest children, he said, "Being a ninja's not all fun and games. Sure, there are some good things, but it's a lot of hard and dangerous work. People dying on missions is not an uncommon thing. _Genin_ dying on missions is not an uncommon thing."

Ino looked down as well, hugging Yuri closer as she did. "If either of you change your mind and don't want to become a ninja anymore, you don't have to. No one will think anything less of you. Not me, not Daddy."

The twins did not respond. They stared at the stone, both looking pale and thoughtful. Ino placed the bouquet she had prepared next to the other ones, biting her lower lip as she did. Shika pulled another, newer box of cigarettes out of his pocket and laid it next to the flowers. He slipped the old one back into his pocket.

When it was clear that Ino was going to get emotional, the three children stepped aside and let their parents have a few moments alone. Shikamaru wrapped his arms around Ino as she leaned against him, tears sliding down her cheeks. The jonin comforted his wife as best he could, but he knew that she needed to cry. There was nothing quite like having someone you loved like Team Ten had loved Asuma die in your arms, especially when you were still young. The pain had stayed with them all these years, and crying every so often helped to ease it.

The children settled under a tree several yards away. Rose began to collect acorns, humming to herself, as the older two stared at their parents; Yuri perched on a root and Asuma standing next to her. None of them spoke and when their parents were done they headed back down the hill and towards home in silence.

* * *

That night, after everyone was asleep, Yuri and Asuma, each carrying a blanket, made their way to the roof. Laying one blanket down beneath them and stretching out on top, they spread the other above them. After a minute, they huddled closer together for warmth. For a while, they simply lay there, their breath coming out in cloudy puffs, staring up at the starry sky above, each lost in their own thoughts. Then Yuri's voice broke the silence.

"So, Asuma." Yuri did not move her gaze from a particularly sparkly star as she spoke, its light reflecting in her dark eyes. "Are you going to change your mind?"

He snorted and said, "No."

Then he thought, _And you?_

_No way! Did you even need to ask?_

Then she sat up with a gasp. Turning sharply to Asuma, she breathed, "Did we--I mean—did you—what-?"

_Yeah, I believe we did._ Asuma smirked up at her triumphantly, blue eyes glinting wickedly. _I told you so._

Yuri stared, flabbergasted, unable to believe what she was hearing. _I can hear you, inside my head. And you can hear me?_

_Uh…__yeah__. That's what I've been trying to-._

_THIS IS SO COOL!!_

Asuma clutched his head, wincing, and glared at his over-excitable twin. _Don't __do__ that! It's like you're yelling right in my ear, but worse!_

_Sorry. I'm just a lit-tle excited right now. _

_I don't see why. I've been telling you we could do this for the past, like, four months. And it first happened over five years ago. _

_Yeah, yeah, yeah. None of that matters, because now we're actually doing it!_ _Oh my god!_

Sighing, Asuma closed his eyes and relaxed into the blankets, thinking on what he had learned earlier that day, all the while trying to ignore the now constant stream of chatter from his sister filling his head.

_So…I'm named after their old squad leader, who died on a mission almost seventeen years ago. And apparently, Mom and Dad were pretty fond of him. That's a lot to live up to, on my part. But I don't care. It'll make being a ninja more interesting. And I know people die on missions. I just won't let that happen to me._

_Or Yuri. _

Eyebrows set in determination, Asuma drifted off to sleep, lulled by his own thoughts and the familiar chatters of his other half.

* * *

Well, that was a somewhat emotional chapter. Or at least, it was meant to be a littler sadder than usual. It was probably really cheesy. Oh well. You got the point, hopefully. And this update was pretty fast too, right? Oh, and I just want to thank darktank for suggesting a trip to Asuma's grave in the first place, way back around chapter, like three or something.

Now. Up until now, I've just sort of been writing chapters for this as I think of them, and I think most have turned out okay. Recently, I've started to lose steam for this story. However, now I know where I want to go with this. So now I have a goal! Woohoo! So I'm hoping that I'll get my inspiration for this fic back, because I've discovered that I really have the urge to write something because forced writing just isn't as good. And also, I'm reaching the climax of one of my other two stories, so I may focus a bit more on that one for the time being. Just so you know.

I've started doing this for my other two chapter stories, so I'll do it with this one two. Thank you to all of my reviewers who have stuck with this fic despite my recent slowness in updating. You all are amazing!

**Darktank, sad little monkey, MaiomilovesShikamaru, Pure-Rose-Kunoichi, The Elven-Spear, GaaraEatsTacos, Kairi Uzeniba, ray.j, SnowCharms, Alucius, and yingyanglover. **

Until my next update!


	16. Rebel Uchiha

I don't own Naruto…

Chapter 16: A Rebel Uchiha

"Yuri! You've been in there for twenty-minutes already! How long can it possibly take you to get ready?"

"Well," Yuri's voice replied. "Obviously, it can take me more than twenty minutes!"

Asuma slumped against the bathroom door and slid to the floor, sighing in defeat. _Jeez_, he thought. _We turn twelve years old and all of a sudden she turns into someone like…like mom!_ _How can anyone take so long to brush their hair and teeth? I just don't get it._ He stretched his lanky legs out across the hall, hanging his head.

Rose, her face buried in a magazine, walked out of her bedroom and turned, headed toward the stairs. Just a few steps out, she tripped over her most beloved brother.

"Ah!" Rose screamed from a combination of shock, anger, and fright, Asuma from shock and pain. The little girl landed, sprawled over Asuma's legs, her face inches from the top of the stairs.

"Jeez, Rose, watch where-." Asuma's words were sharply cut off as Rose sat up and launched herself at her brother, hands around his neck.

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING LYING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HALLWAY, YOU IDIOT!?"

"Let…go!" The blond boy choked, trying to pull his sister's hands away from his windpipe. "I was…waiting…for…bathroom!"

"WELL, WHY DIDN'T YOU GO DOWNSTAIRS!?"

Asuma finally managed to loosen Rose's grip and yanked the hands away, taking a huge breath. "Because," he gasped as Rose struggled to break free. "_Mom's_ in the one downstairs!"

No more words were exchanged except sporadic grunts of "idiot!" or "Psycho!" Rose tried to rip her brother's head off and Asuma fought for his life.

Suddenly, the bathroom door on which they were leaning flung open and Asuma fell backwards, Rose on top of him. Asuma, is his shock from the sudden change in his position, gave Rose the opening she had been looking for. Lunging forward, she latched her hands once again around his neck and began to bobble his head backward and forward, yelling.

The one who had opened the door stared down at the wrestlers at her feet, looking mildly intrigued.

"APOLOGIZE!" Rose screeched, ignoring the fact that Asuma's face was turning blue.

"For what?" He choked.

"FOR TRIPPING ME AND ALMOST SENDING ME CAREENING DOWN THE STAIRS TO MY DEATH!"

"Never!"

"**DO IT!"**

"I'm…_sorry!_" Asuma wheezed, fingers scrabbling desperately at his throat.

Wearing a triumphant grin, Rose finally let go.

A second of silence. Rose and Asuma lay panting on the floor. Water dripped slowly from the shower faucet. Downstairs, they could just hear Ino's voice as she sang in the shower. Somewhere outside a dog barked.

Rose looked up and noticed her sister for the first time.

"Oh, hi Yuri."

Asuma looked up and choked out a weak, "Hi, Yuri."

"Hi, you guys."

No one moved.

Yuri shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "Um, can I get out?"

"Oh, yeah." Rose got to her feet, dusting off her pink skirt and straightening her hair, and backed out into the hallway.

Yuri simply stepped over Asuma…well…_on_ Asuma.

"Ow!" He sat up, putting a hand to the place on his chest where her heal had dug in. "I was gonna move, you know."

"Yeah, but that would have taken too long."

Then Asuma noticed Yuri's appearance. There was no make-up. Her hair was loose, but it looked like it did every other day. Taking a closer look, he realized that there was absolutely nothing special about his twin's appearance whatsoever. And then he noticed what she held in her hand.

"What were you doing in there?" He asked suspiciously.

Yuri glanced casually at the book in her hand. "Oh, I was reading."

"You weren't doing your hair? Or putting on make-up?"

Yuri shook her head.

"Did you even take a shower?"

Yuri snorted, amused by his foolishness. "I took one yesterday."

Asuma stared up at his sister incredulously. "So you were just…_reading?_ Couldn't you have done that somewhere _else_!?"

The girl shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." Then, wearing a satisfied smirk, she turned and headed down the stairs, whistling happily.

Rose and Asuma watched her go. Then Rose turned to look at Asuma, opening her mouth to say something. But then she got distracted.

"Wow, I gave you a black eye!" She leaned in closer to inspect her work. "Man, to get beat up by your seven-year-old sister _and_ completely used by your twin…what a _loser_!"

And, with that, Rose turned and skipped down the stairs after Yuri, smiling hugely.

Asuma watched the small, demonic girl go, his blue eyes narrowing. Then, with a great sigh, he fell back.

_Why did I have to have two sisters? Why? And they couldn't even be nice sisters. Instead, I got two of the most sinister, cruel-minded, wicked-hearted girls in the entire world_.

He lay there for another moment, brooding. Then a voice other than his joined his thoughts.

_Stop complaining. If you want a brother so badly, go ask Tam to do a trade off. _

_I didn't say I wanted a brother, you eavesdropping she-demon. I'd settle for sisters that weren't as evil as you. And stop barging in on my thoughts! My head's not a radio you can tune in to whenever you feel like it. _

_Sure__ it's not. Complain all you want, my dearest brother, but you're stuck with us for a long time._

_Fantastic. Thanks for the reminder. _

_You're welcome_.

After a minute when Yuri did not speak, Asuma figured she was done. Then he remembered why he had been pounding on the bathroom door in the first place. Slowly, painfully, he rose to his feet and closed the door.

…

…

…

Later that day, Yuri was lounging in the living room, trying to finish her book, when there was a fierce bout of knocking on the front door.

"Yuri!" Ino called from the kitchen, where she was cleaning out the refrigerator. "Can you get it!?"

"_Okay_! I'm just at the climax of the book and the main character's in the most intense battle of his lifetime and could die at any moment, maybe even in the next sentence, but _don't_ worry! I can get it!"

"Gosh, Mom, you may need a life boat to survive such a flood of sarcasm."

"I wasn't talking to you, Asuma!"

"JUST GET THE DOOR, YURI!"

"FINE!"

Yuri, glowering like a thundercloud, slid off the couch and stomped over to the door.

_This better be important_. Keeping her finger in the book to mark her place, Yuri yanked open the front door.

Instantly, she was bowled over by what appeared to be a pink and black bulldozer, which was wailing and screeching like a dying animal.

"Y-y-yuuuuurr-r-r-riiiiiiii!!!!!"

"Ah!"

_THUMP._

"S-sari!?"

"Y-yuri, I-I have t-to t-t-al-lk t-to y-you! I-it's t-t-t-err-r-ib-b-l-le…"

Yuri, more than a little confused and lying flat on her back in the hallway, awkwardly patted her friend on the back.

"Calm down, Sari. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think-."

"It _is_! It's worse!" Sari let out another loud wail and started to bawl.

Asuma and Ino, wondering if Yuri was brutally trying to kill an innocent animal, appeared in the hallway, Asuma at the top of the stairs, Ino by the kitchen. When they saw that it was only Yuri's over-dramatic best friend lying on top of their daughter/sister in the open doorway and crying her eyes out, Asuma relaxed a bit.

Ino stepped forward, her mother senses tingling. "Sari, sweetie, what's the matter? Did something happen to someone in your family? Did your Dad get hurt on a mission? Is there something wrong with Sakura?"

But they could not get any more sensible words out of Sari, no matter how mothering Ino was or how uncomfortable Asuma and Yuri were. Mother and boy were able to pry Sari off of Yuri and guide her into the kitchen, where Ino made her a cup of hot chocolate and tried to calm her down. Eventually, they managed to stop the gale-storm of tears and reduce it to a small trickle, and she finally spoke some clear words.

"Thank you for the hot chocolate," she said to Ino in a small voice. "And I'm sorry I tackled you, Yuri," Sari said quietly, giving a small sniff. "But, I was so…so-."

Sensing that another wave of tears was coming, Yuri acted quickly. Taking Sari by the hand, and grabbing their mugs, she dragged the girl out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her and Asuma's bedroom, calling back to her brother and mother, "Girl talk! Don't worry, I'll fix it!"

As the door closed behind the two girls, Asuma let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God she's taking care of it. I can't handle emotional stuff like that. I'm not good at it."

Ino smiled wearily and patted her son's hand consolingly, saying, "That's okay, Asuma. Neither is your father."

…

…

…

Sitting side by side on Yuri's bed, Sari told Yuri her story.

"So the other day, my mom and dad took me and Sammy and Shuri to the graveyard and showed us the Uchiha memorial for all of Daddy's family, and they talked to us about how being a ninja isn't all fun and games and how people die all the time; and they told us about how Daddy's brother Itachi, who was a really amazing ninja and became an ANBU at 13, went and completely massacred the entire family when Daddy was, like, Shuri's age. They said that, in order to fully understand what we were getting into by becoming ninja, we had to witness both the good side and the bad side."

Sari's dark, pretty eyes were large and sad as she talked, and Yuri put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"And then they talked about death and a bunch of stuff like that, and at first, I just thought that it was nothing. I've known that there was a lot of death and pain while being a ninja forever. But then for a few days after that visit, I kept thinking about it, and I thought about how horrible it would be to lose a teammate, or a teacher, or a sibling."

Sari's voice grew thick and her eyes were shining. She looked at Yuri and said, "And so then I pictured if we were on the same team. We've wanted to be for years, and we've always thought it would be so cool." Sari's voice rose in pitch and her hands started to shake. "B-but I can't imagine w-watching you d-die."

Yuri felt her own eyes filling up even as tears started to pour once again down Sari's cheeks.

She wiped them away, choking, "I kn-now that I'm n-not strong like you and B-blaire. I d-don't know w-what I would d-do. I'd p-probably just get in the way, and maybe one of m-my teammates would get hurt b-because of it. I d-don't think I'm m-made out to be a n-ninja."

The dark-haired Nara leaned forward and hugged her friend, who clung to her like her life depended on it, crying into her shoulder. Yuri, for both Sari's sake and her own, clung just as hard.

"S-so then," Sari said into Yuri's shirt, trying to get her voice under control. "I t-told my parents that I ch-changed my m-mind and didn't want to be a n-ninja."

"And what did they say?" Yuri said in an encouraging sort of way, trying to keep the words coming.

Sari sat up, wiping her shining cheeks on the back of her wrists. Yuri passed her a tissue box and Sari blew her nose while new tears dampened her cheeks. "They were shocked! But my m-mom was okay about it, after a minute. She said that if I was sure, than that was f-fine with her."

"That's great! So why are you so upset?"

"Because of m-my dad!" Sari's tears redoubled in ferocity. "He d-didn't g-g-get what I w-was tr-trying to say, and when he finally did, he got really angry!"

Yuri gasped, shocked. "But why!?"

"I-I don't know! P-probably b-b-because I'm an U-u-uchiha. We're _supposed_ to be ninjas, that's our job! And he t-told me that! He said, 'Sari, you are an Uchiha! Being a ninja is in your blood! You have the sharingan, you can't just let that go to waste! We owe it to our village to supply ninja who can use it!' So I said, 'But what about me, Daddy? What about me personally? I may be an Uchiha, but I'm also just a kid!' I told him I didn't want to have my teammates die, that I couldn't handle it, but then he said that the sharingan would help ensure that my teammates _didn't_ die, that it, that _I_, could help them."

Shuri gave an involuntary shudder and closed her eyes. "He was m-more focused on the fact that I had the sharingan than the fact that I was his _daughter_, and that I was scared! So I just turned around and ran. I didn't know where to go, so I came here."

Shuri lifted her shining face up to look at Yuri's, eyes huge and red-rimmed. "A-and b-before I left, I t-told him I h-hated him, and that he should j-just take my eyes out and give them to some other kid, so that the v-village would have its precious sh-sharingan and I could be in p-peace."

With that, she collapsed into another fit of sobbing, whether from the idea of her teammates dying, having a fight with her father, or from having said those things to Sasuke, Yuri had no idea. She stroked Sari's head as Sari cried and cried and cried, her face buried in the blankets next to Yuri. Eventually, the Uchiha slipped into an exhausted sleep, one of her hand holding tightly on to Yuri's.

After a little while, Ino tapped on the door and peeked her head inside. Yuri motioned her in and quickly whispered her a condensed version of the story, saying that Sari had decided that she did not want to become a ninja and had then had a fight with her dad. Ino slipped back out and Yuri, emotionally drained, shifted into a more comfortable position and drifted quickly off to sleep.

…

…

…

"Oh. So that's why she was so upset." Rose, who had been playing outside when Sari arrived, was now seated at the kitchen table with Asuma and Ino, listening as Ino recounted what Yuri had told her to her two other children. "Well I don't blame her," she continued, knowingly. "If I got into a fight with daddy, I sure would cry and run away."

"Rose," said Asuma in his older brother way. "You fight with dad all the time and you've never run away."

"Yeah," Rose retorted in her you-think-you're-so-smart-but-you're-actually-being-really-stupid voice. "But not over service owed to the town by my _cl-an_."

Sensing a fight coming on, Ino was about to intercede when there was another knock on the front door.

"No fighting," she said warningly to the two as she stood. "Or else garbage duty for a week."

She walked into the hall and, opening the door, found herself face-to-face with a pale, anxious looking Sasuke Uchiha.

Before Ino could even say hello, the man burst out, "Is Sari here?"

Ino gave a small, understanding smile and said, "Yes, she got here about half-an hour ago."

Sasuke closed his eyes as his shoulders sagged in relief and he let out a tired sigh. Ino wondered if she had ever seen the Uchiha so uncomposed before. She didn't think so.

She brought Sasuke inside and into the kitchen, where she practically forced him to have a cup of hot chocolate to calm himself.

"Hot chocolate," she said as she set the mug rather forcefully down in front of him. "Can do wonders to any person."

Assigning Rose the job of ensuring that Sasuke drank the warm beverage, Ino went upstairs and slipped into Yuri's bedroom. Both girls were now waking up; both looking bleary eyed and pale. Upon hearing that her father was downstairs, Sari promptly refused to see him.

"If he wants to see me so badly, he can just use his _sharingan_ to look through the door."

"Uh, Sar, aren't you thinking of the byakugan?" Yuri asked cautiously.

Sari's lower lip trembled dangerously and she burst out, "You know what I meant!"

It took the mother-daughter pair ten minutes of constant arguing and cajoling before Sari finally agreed.

"I've never seen him looking so worried before," Ino added as she walked towards the door. "Just let him talk, sweetie. Believe me, you'll regret it if you don't."

Sasuke and Sari were alone together for half an hour, and, judging by the sounds echoing down the stairs to the kitchen, there was much crying and shouting involved, all on Sari's part. The four Naras idled away the time, discussing what they wanted for dinner and other very random and unimportant things. Just as Ino started to consider actually cooking the dinner, the door opened and the two Uchihas came downstairs. Sari's eyes were red-rimmed and swollen from all the crying, but now she smiled as well, holding tightly onto Sasuke's hand as she thanked Yuri and Ino for their kindness.

"I'll see you later, Yuri," Sari said finally and father and daughter left, headed home to reassure a frantic Sakura that yes, Sari was fine and no, she did not go all Itachi and start trying to kill the clan.

…

…

…

"So she's _not_ going to become a genin?" Asuma asked, just to make sure he got the right ending.

"Yes," Yuri said exasperatedly, throwing her feet up on an empty chair. "She'll probably just teach herself normal people stuff and then she'll eventually get a civilian job, but not till she's older. And yes, everything is fine between her and Sasuke."

"Okay then." Asuma leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Girls always make everything so _dramatic_. Why can't they be more simple?"

After Rose and Yuri had risen to attack Asuma but before they could actually touch him, the front door opened and Shikamaru walked in, looking exhausted.

"Daddy!" Rose changed direction mid-leap and hit Shikamaru around the waist, hugging him fiercely.

"Hi, everyone." As Rose unlatched herself, Shikamaru rubbed his eyes and collapsed into a chair, letting out a contented sigh.

"So, Dad, wanna know what happened today?" Rose leaned forward, looking excited to share such interesting information.

"Does it involve any of you?"

"A little."

"Am I gonna have to think about this tomorrow?"

"No…"

"Will it have any affect on what I do for the rest of the evening?"

"No!"

"…"

"Hello? Daddy?"

"Mom, Dad fell asleep at the table again!"

"Please, Shika, try to get a grip on yourself! You're setting such a bad example!"

"…"

"Shika? Are you listening to me!?"

"Mom, he's asleep. How could he be listening to you?"

_WHAP!_

"Ow! What was that for!?"

"For falling asleep at the dinner table!"

"But we're not eating yet."

"Well, you're at the table and we'll be eating soon, so-."

"Fine, I'll just go upstairs and sleep."

"But, Daddy, I haven't told you my story yet!"

"It's not your story, Rose, I was more involved than you!"

"But I wanna tell it!"

"I'm going upstairs-."

"This is family time, Shika, you are _not_ going to disappear and sleep!"

Asuma closed his eyes and slowly tuned out his family's ceaseless chatter, a skill he had become a pro at over the years. _Man, they always talk so much. Can't they just be quiet? Ahh…I'm so tired…_

"Asuma, don't you agree-. Asuma? Asuma!? Mom, Asuma fell asleep too!"

"What!?"

_WHAP!_

"Ow! Hey, what was that for!?"

"For falling asleep at the dinner table!"

"But there's no food!"

"I feel like I've heard this conversation before…"

The End

…………………………………………….

Whoo…So, first off, Happy belated New Year, everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a great new year. For me, in this New Year I hope to update faster, write more, and do some other stuff. And I think I'm doing pretty good so far! For those of you who read my other stories too, you'll notice that I have updated all three of them in the very recent past. Woohoo!

Okay, so about this story. This was so weird. I just got the idea and I just sat down and wrote this entire chapter straight through. Granted, I started around six-thirty and, with several breaks in-between, and now it's midnight. But I just thought that was kind of cool.

I hope you all liked this chapter! I like it a lot, even though it got more emotional than I had originally planned. So I would love to hear what you think.

**Three cheers for all the reviewers of last chapter! A Christmas card from the Naruto family of your choice for: Pure-Rose-Kunoichi, The Elven-Spear, SnowCharms, Alucius, darktank, GaaraEatsTacos, MaiomilovesShikamaru, inofan2929, Tensano Hyguuhi, sad little monkey, LittleKittyShaoMao, Kouri Hakumei, Kairi Uzeniba, yingyanglover, ToastWeasl **(who I didn't forget this time!)**, no one in preticular, and kirei hana35.**

Thank you all! Last Chapter we had 17 reviews, which is completely incredible. I owe you all so much!

I'm only proofing this once before I post, so pleas excuse and point out any typos you see so I can fix them. Thank you!


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